Marauder Reminders
by Jenulus
Summary: Set during OotP, this is the untold story of Remus and Tonks: how they meet and their burgeoning friendship as the War continues to escalate around them.
1. Meeting and ReMeeting

Marauder Reminders

Set during OotP, this is the untold story of Remus and Tonks: how they meet and their burgeoning friendship as the War continues to escalate around them.

Author's Note: It's my first fanfic, so I'd really appreciate any suggestions you have to improve. I hope you enjoy! If you're interested, I've put some notes in my profile about their ages, etc. It's by no means necessary to read though some might find it interesting.

Disclaimer: I'm just playing with my friends. I don't own any of them.

Chapter 1: Meeting and Re-Meeting

This was it, Remus was sure of it. He, Remus John Lupin, had officially lost his mind.

He had always been the sane one. In the Marauders, James had been the self-assured one ("Cocky, more like," Lily would correct him), and the athlete. He was the talented one, the first to master every spell and the best Quidditch player Hogwarts had seen in a long while. Sirius was the hotheaded one, the loose cannon. After a date, girls never knew if they wanted to snog him or smack him. And Peter, well Peter was the sniveling, lying backstabber, Remus knew now. But back then, Peter had just been an enigma, of sorts. A non-entity really, who seemed content to bask in James and Sirius' afterglow. Remus was the voice of reason. The logic. He had always been the one to chastise the others for their latest prank, while failing to hold back a grin. But he was that Remus no longer.

Lily Potter, the Lily Potter who had died close to fourteen years ago, was standing next to the staircase in 12 Grimmauld Place. Not only that, she was holding his favorite coffee mug. Or what remained of it at least: she held the handle in her right hand and the body in her left. He put down the box he was carrying and shook his head to try and remove this vision of Lily and regain his sanity. But there she stayed, now rummaging through the chest of drawers in the hall, muttering about Krinshack's Repair All Glue. With her long auburn hair and almond shaped eyes, Lily Potter lived, and she obviously didn't see Remus standing there, staring at her. Remus swallowed hard. _How I long to hear her voice again, to hear her say, "All right there, Remus? Fancy some tea?" in that sweet lilting voice, just like she always did when she saw him._

"More Spello-tape? Who needs this much Spello-tape?" Lily said angrily, as she slammed the last drawer shut.

_Well, it's not quite what I expected but…wait. That is most definitely not Lily's voice. _

"Bollocks!" She yelled, as she noticed that the two pieces of the mug had fallen to the floor after she had slammed the drawer. It now lay in even smaller pieces at her feet.

Slightly unnerved by the uncanny resemblance but more than a little relieved that he still had full command of his own mind, Remus cleared his throat to announce his presence.

"Wotcher!" The woman spun around, wand raised to dueling height and at the ready in the blink of an eye. She stepped on the last pieces of the Quidditch World Cup mug at her feet in her haste. Unfazed, she locked her eyes onto Remus, almost daring him to move.

Remus put his hands up and smiled softly. _Merlin, she's a quick draw. Wonder where she learned that._ "I'm Remus Lupin. I'm moving in today at the request of Sirius Black and Albus Dumbledore." He slowly put out his hand.

She looked down at his offered hand suspiciously and didn't take it. She instead took another good look at him. Remus could feel her sizing him up; felt her eyes linger over the threadbare spots on his trousers, the patches on his robes, the scars on his face. Remus instantly straightened his back and dropped his hand down to his side.

"Is that the truth?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was?"

"No."

"It seems, then, that we are at an impasse." Remus wished she would lower her wand.

"Molly introduced me to everyone in the house over an hour ago. She didn't mention you." Her eyes flashed dangerously. She clearly thought Remus was an intruder, despite what he had said.

"Well, I was packing the last of my things to bring over," Remus said, pointing to the box on the floor. "And I haven't seen Molly yet, since it was just yesterday I got back from…" Remus checked himself. This Lily-look alike hadn't even mentioned her name; she didn't need to know he had been holed up for his transformation. "Well, anyway. Molly probably just forgot."

"Back from wh-"

"Oi! Tonks! We found some…" Fred Weasley came bursting through the door at the end of the hall, holding a bottle of Krinshacks Repair All Glue, closely followed by his identical-to-the-freckle twin, George. "Professor Lupin!"

"Hello Fred, George. Good holiday so far?"

But Fred and George didn't answer. They were too preoccupied with the scene in front of them—the Lily clone, Tonks apparently, wand at the ready and pointed straight at the heart of their favorite former professor. They shared a look between them and began to chuckle. "You think he's a Death Eater or something, Tonks? Think they carry boxes of books and quills with them when they're on the prowl?"

At that, Tonks slowly lowered her wand, a slight blush creeping up her neck. She shrugged. "Guess I'm still a little jumpy, is all. Just learned yesterday that You-Know-Who is back. Sorry 'bout that. Name's Tonks." She stuck her hand out.

"Remus Lupin, like I said." He shook her hand, a petite thing that carried a firm grip.

Remus bent over to pick up his things. With a small smirk, he said, "I'll just finish unpacking now, if I'm free to go." Without waiting for an answer he stepped around Tonks and went upstairs. Once he reached the landing, he turned around. "Oh, and Tonks," he called, "Please do try to fix that cup. It's my favorite."

About an hour later, Remus was standing in front of the bookcase in his room, making sure his books were all in alphabetical order, by author. A soft knock at the door drew his attention away. "Come in."

"Ummm… Remus? I'm so sorry. I'm so incredibly sorry but I couldn't fix your coffee mug. I'm complete rubbish at household charms," Tonks said as she held all the remaining pieces out to him. "I'm so sorry."

"It's ok. It's just a cup. Don't worry about it. Really."

"Well, I wanted to apologize again for earlier, too. I don't know what came over me. I just wasn't prepared to see someone new in the house, I guess. I don't know."

Remus set down the pieces of the cup on his dresser. He cast a glance over to her and promptly looked away. Now that he knew she wasn't going to hex him, the uncanny resemblance to Lily hit him again, full force. His heart ached. He quickly reprimanded himself for being so silly as to have thought that she might still be alive. He had accepted their death long ago, was long practiced in ignoring the emptiness that sometimes pressed upon him like a weight on his chest. _Why am I this bothered? Clearly, she's **not** Lily. I'm better off now than I was three years ago when I thought Sirius had betrayed us all. He's back now; half of the Marauders still remain. I'm not nearly as lonely as I have been._

"Remus? Is something the matter?" Genuine concern passed through her eyes and Remus couldn't bear to see it.

"No, no, of course not. Just a little distracted, that's all." Remus answered, too quickly for it to be the truth. An awkward silence followed.

"Well, I think I'll go help Molly with din-"

"Where did you learn to draw your wand so quickly?" Remus blurted out. _What kind of question is that? Who asks such a ridiculous question?_

Tonks looked at him for a moment before answering. "Well… I am an auror. Vigilance, dark arts, bad guys, you know. Kind of comes with the territory, I guess."

"You're an auror?" _Didn't she just say that, Dim Wit? _Remus didn't know why he kept asking such inane questions; he just knew he didn't want her to leave yet.

"Got a problem with that?" Tonks asked, eyes flashing. "Look, I know I'm young but I've worked just as hard as everyone else to get where I am."

Remus was taken aback by her sudden change of demeanor. She looked ready to hex him a dozen different ways to Sunday, again. Once more her unbelievable similarity to Lily rushed to the forefront of his mind. His heart wrenched as he remembered her giving that exact same look to James after he laughed at her when she said she'd be coming with them to the first meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. Remus also remembered how smug she had looked, sitting across the table from him as Albus discussed the latest news of the war.

"Of course it's not a problem. We need as many able-bodied and quick thinking members as we can possibly get," Remus tried to assuage her. "Aurors are always an asset."

"Like alliteration, do we?" With that and a little smile, Tonks left the room.

"Aww…. Come on, Tonks! Please? Just once?" Fred Weasley had fallen to new lows in the wheedling department. He'd spent the past fifteen minutes repeating the same phrases over and over to Tonks, apparently trying to get her to do something, but Remus was unsure of what exactly it was. He was concentrating on his mashed potatoes. Not only was he still recovering from his transformation, which always left him just slightly dragging, he had had a stressful day, what with almost being attacked upon entering the house. He was doing better than Sirius though—Remus still hadn't seen him yet today. Molly had told him that he had had a huge row with Albus about Harry. Harry was going mad in Privet Drive, constantly asking questions that Sirius wasn't allowed to answer, as per Dumbledore. Molly said Sirius had gone spare on Albus, demanding that he tell Harry everything. And Dumbledore, in his Dumbledore way, had brooked no argument on the matter. Sirius was now sulking in his room and had shown no signs of leaving.

Remus sighed, and looked around the table. Lastly, his eyes fell upon Tonks. She was silently shaking her head at Fred, red hair swinging softly, and clearly not budging on whatever he wanted from her. But then, she screwed her eyes up in concentration and suddenly, her nose started taking on a new form. It grew, elongated a bit, and then, sure enough… it started to hook. Her beautiful Lily face was now marred by a nose that instantly made her look as though she were sneering. Shocked, Remus let out a gasp.

Tonks looked up sharply. "Wotcher, Remus. What's the matter?"

"Your nose…it's…but…what happened?"

"I'm a metamorphmagus—didn't Sirius tell you?" Tonks asked, in disbelief.

No, Sirius hadn't told him. _In fact, Sirius didn't even tell me you existed. Why would he have? Was he supposed to?_ Thoroughly confused, Remus replied with a short "No, he didn't." He then put his napkin down, stood up from the table, and exited the room for the library.

A moment later, she stood at the door to the library. "Remus?"

"Yes, Tonks?" Remus was weary. He didn't want to talk to Tonks. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He just wanted to be alone. But he wasn't going to be able to, from the look on her face.

"I feel like our meeting has been completely off from the first moment we saw each other. Can we start over?" When Remus looked at her she looked so earnest, so hopeful that he smiled.

"I'm Remus John Lupin, and I just moved in today. Sirius Black is my best friend, and I am now working full-time for the Order of the Phoenix. And you are?" He held out his hand for her to shake.

As she took his hand, she said, "Nymphadora Tonks, at your service. Please, just call me Tonks. I'm an auror and a new member of the Order."

"Nymphadora? Really?" He felt much better knowing her full name.

"That's the only time you get to use it. From here on out—it's Tonks. Seriously. I hate my name."

"Why do you hate it? I think it's rather… unique." Remus was going to say beautiful, but he could tell that she didn't want to hear it.

"Unique, eh? Yeah, well, when your mom is named Andromeda, let's just say the only way she can get revenge is to take it out on her unsuspecting, defenseless child." And then, Tonks giggled. It was a beautiful, melodic giggle that made her eyes sparkle. Remus was awestruck for a moment at the sound.

"Wait. Your mom is Andromeda? As in Andromeda Black?" Putting two and two together, Remus finally made sense of her questioning what Sirius had told him about her.

"Yes. Sirius is my first cousin, once removed. And it's Andromeda Tonks. She was disowned, not that she minded." She seemed to be steeling herself, as if Remus was going to make a disparaging comment about the Black family and associate her with the dark arts the family practiced.

"So, you're a metamorphmagus," Remus tried to start a new topic of conversation.

"Yes, and it's not a Dark Art, whatever you might be thinking about my Black family heritage," Tonks spat at him.

"Stop doing that," Remus heard the steely quality in his own voice.

"Doing what?" Tonks asked, still in defensive mode.

"Stop taking all of my innocent questions to mean that I'm somehow judging you for something. I know what it's like when people make assumptions on your character for things you can't control."

She stopped and looked hard at him, trying to determine if there was truth in his eyes. He didn't flinch under the stare, and tried to let his honesty shine through. After a moment, she relaxed a bit, and Lupin felt it was safe to re-ask his question. "So, you're a metamorphmagus."

"Yes." She had seemed to believe what he said, but she wasn't very forthcoming. Remus surged ahead anyway. He had to know.

"So… is this what you normally look like? I mean, without the Snape nose." He definitely didn't like the hooked monstrosity that was currently gracing her otherwise beautiful face.

"Oh, no. It's not. I just wanted to feel more like a Weasley around all of them, you know," Tonks fingered a long lock of hair as she said this. "So I came up with this approximation of what an older Ginny or a younger Molly might look like. What do you think?"

"Honestly?" Remus asked, and when he got a short nod and confused look from Tonks he finished, "You're the spitting image of Lily Potter. I'm surprised Sirius didn't say anything."

"Oh dear, that won't do, will it? Sirius hasn't seen me yet—I just got here today and he hasn't been out of his room… oh, what you must think of me." Tonks, looking quite distressed, screwed up her eyes once more. Soon, her long red hair started to shorten, and turn a curious shade of pink. Her eyes went from almond shaped to slightly more round, and her face took on a lovely pale heart shape.

"Better?" She asked with her eyes still closed.

"Is this the real you?" Remus couldn't help asking.

"No. I don't show anyone that." She said matter-of-factly, looking at him again, this time with eyes of a most shocking teal color. "You must hate me for making you talk with Lily all day. I really didn't know. I was only six when they died, and I've never really seen pictures…"

Remus cut her off. "It's ok. I thought you just naturally had a striking resemblance. Well, honestly, at first, I thought I had lost my mind," he smiled at the memory, "Besides personality-wise, you do remind me of her a little, and that's not a bad thing. And it's definitely not something I'd hate you over."

"Well, thanks, I guess. I'm just going to head back over to my flat now. See you at the meeting tomorrow?" She couldn't seem to get away from him fast enough. He didn't know how to ease her embarrassment at all.

"You don't have to go," Remus started.

"Yes, yes I do. Long day tomorrow, all that. You'll be at the meeting tomorrow?"

"Sure, Nympha-"

"Tonks," she cut him off abruptly.

"Sure, Tonks. See you tomorrow." He turned to one of the bookcases as she left the room. _I wonder what she'll look like tomorrow_, Remus caught himself thinking as we walked up the stairs to his room, book in hand.


	2. Secret Mission

_Marauder Reminders_

_Set during OotP, this is the untold story of Remus and Tonks: how they meet and their burgeoning friendship as the War continues to escalate around them._

_Author's Note: I updated the rating, because Sirius makes his first appearance and just wouldn't keep his language tame. It's my first fanfic, so I'd really appreciate any suggestions you have to improve. I hope you enjoy! If you're interested, I've put some notes in my profile about their ages, etc. It's by no means necessary to read though some might find it interesting._

_Disclaimer: I'm just playing with my friends. I don't own any of them._

* * *

Chapter 2: Secret Mission

"I met your cousin yesterday." Remus had just put the kettle on when Sirius had come in the kitchen, out of his room for the first time since his argument with Dumbledore.

"What? Where did you see Andromeda?" Sirius asked as he sat down at the table.

"No, not Andromeda. Her daughter, Nymphadora." Remus set a cup in front of Sirius and another in front of the empty space across from him.

"Oh bloody hell. Yesterday was her first day in the Order, wasn't it? And I spent all day holed up in my room, like the great big bloody prat I am."

"Yes, it was. Molly showed her around for you," Remus paused before continuing. "Why haven't you ever mentioned her?"

Sirius sighed. "Well, Andromeda was my favorite cousin, but she's a full ten years older. I was 12 my family disowned her for marrying a muggle-born. My parents forbade me from seeing or writing her. When I went to live with James so much was going on that I all but completely forgot about her," he smiled softly, "I did meet her once, when she was 3; Andromeda brought her over to my flat. She didn't have control over the morphing then—her face would just kind of shift, randomly. It embarrassed Andromeda a bit, I remember," Sirius eyes had glazed over. He was obviously absorbed in the memories of that time in his life.

"We lost contact after that, really. Especially after Lily and James got married and the war started to heat up. She wanted no part in any of it—she didn't like what Voldemort and his followers were about, but she didn't want to be killing her own sisters and other family either. Not to mention having a muggle-born husband and a Meta kid… she was worried she would become a target. Anyway, then Harry was born and James and Lily went into hiding, and then, well, then I was in Azkaban. Nymphadora must have been what? Six? Seven? It was Kingsley who recommended her for the Order. Should be dead useful though, with the morphing and all. Andromeda was one powerful witch—I'd imagine she is too." Sirius twisted his teacup between his hands as he spoke.

Remus looked at his friend. He looked better than he had in a long time. His hair was shorter and clean, he was clean-shaven, and thanks to Molly's cooking he was no longer gaunt. His skin had started to regain some color. But his eyes were still lifeless, still empty pools of black that showed no hint of the mischief that once lived there. Remus wondered if it would ever come back. "I heard you asked Dumbledore about Harry again."

"Bollocks. You mean you heard from Molly that I was on his case about Harry again."

"I guess you could put it that way," Remus said, looking down at his tea. "What did he say?"

"Same shit, different day. Harry needs to stay there for his own protection, Harry shouldn't be told anything through owls, and when Harry does get here, we're to stick to only what he needs to know." Remus could feel the anger flaring up in Sirius again, could see the muscle in his jaw start to twitch slightly.

"Did he say when Harry could come?"

"Only that it would be after his birthday." His jaw twitched again.

"That's five weeks from now."

"I know. I pointed that out, and the fact that Hermione's on her way today when she's in far less danger and far less important to the war. It just doesn't seem fair."

"Hermione's important. She's important to Harry and that makes her important to the war effort. It doesn't seem fair, you're right, but Dumbledore knows what he's doing." _If I know one thing, it's that Dumbledore wants what's best for Harry. And he's the only one who seems to know all the pieces of the story._

"If you say so," Sirius said as he stood up and left the kitchen.

* * *

At the meeting that night, Tonks arrived just as everyone was settling into their seats. Her hair remained short and spiky, but was now pitch-black. Her eyes were far more exotic—long lashes surrounding pewter-colored irises. She made brief eye contact with Remus before grabbing a seat at the other end of the table.

"Prophecies are recorded and kept in two places. First, in the mind of the person who received the prophecy. A duplicate record is then created and stored here," Dumbledore pointed to a map spread out in front of him, "in the Department of Mysteries. I heard Harry's prophecy, so we do not need to worry about securing that record. Our intelligence reports indicate that Voldemort is currently seeking a way to obtain the duplicate record. Starting tonight, we will place a night guard at the entrance to the Department of Mysteries, whose sole responsibility is to ensure that no one enters the department that doesn't belong there. It is unlikely that Voldemort will attempt to gain the prophecy during the day. We're looking for volunteers for the first ten shifts. Each shift is six hours long."

Sturgis Podmore was first to raise his hand, followed by Arthur Weasley. As more hands rose, Remus also held his hand in the air. Professor Dumbledore looked at him and quickly, almost imperceptibly, shook his head once. Confused, Remus lowered his hand and looked at Albus again, but he was looking away.

At the end of the meeting (Harry's arrival was not discussed, Remus noted), Albus called to him, "Remus? I need to speak with you please."

Remus stayed in the kitchen while everyone else filed out. Once they were alone, Albus cast a quick silencing charm on the door. "I have a special mission for you. I have been unable to find a suitable replacement for professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Fudge has been indicating that he fully intends to pass a decree allowing him to appoint someone to the position if I cannot find someone suitable. We cannot allow this to happen. I need you to find someone."

"Of course, Professor Dumbledore. Do you have anyone in mind?" Remus had already begun searching his mind for possible candidates.

"Well, of course my first choice is you, but as you refuse to rescind your resignation…" Albus looked carefully at Remus.

Remus faltered. "Professor, you know I miss teaching, but I'm afraid it's inappropriate to subject my rare, er, _personality_ on students when their parents clearly object. I'll do my best to find someone else who is qualified."

"Very well," Albus sighed heavily. "Do what you can."

"I'll leave in the morning, Professor," Remus said as he turned to leave.

"Remus?" Dumbledore called to him, and when Remus had turned around he said, "It's rare indeed to find a man of your quality. You have a condition; don't let it become a flaw."

* * *

Remus walked into the drawing room. Most of the other Order members had left directly after the meeting—just Dung, Kingsley, Sirius and the Weasley family was left. Molly was currently walking around the room, followed by a very bored-looking Ginny who appeared to be writing down a list of needed cleaning supplies that her mother was dictating. "Worst Doxy infestation I've ever seen. We'll definitely need to order Doxycide…and don't get me started on the sheer amount of dust…" Remus noted, with a twinge of regret, that Tonks had left before he had a chance to say hello.

"Seems you made quite the impression, Moony," Sirius said as he moved next to Remus.

"What are you on about now?" Remus didn't like the way his friend's mouth was quirking up at the edges, like he was trying to bite back a wicked grin.

"Little Nymphie was asking after you. Wondering aloud what Dumbledore was so keen to talk with you about, alone. Slyly asking what you had said after meeting her. Obviously doesn't know me well yet at all if she thinks I'd fall for that. What aren't you telling me about your little encounter yesterday?" Remus could tell Sirius was teasing just by the way he was standing.

"Really, Sirius. Be nicer to your poor cousin."

"I'll think I'll leave that job to you, actually. So. What did Albus want?"

"I leave in the morning for a mission and I'm not sure when I'll be back." Remus once again started a list in his mind of possible candidates to interview.

"What's the mission?" Sirius whispered conspiratorially. He could barely contain an eager smile. He stood facing Remus now, arms folded in front of him, shoulders slightly hunched.

"Well, I'm not sure anyone should know. After all, Dumbledore didn't bring it up at the meeting and-"

Sirius cut him off. "Bloody hell, Remus. I'm so sick of secrets and restrictions that I might just take Buckbeak, pick up Harry and damn the consequences."

"Fine, fine… just keep it quiet, all right?" Remus looked around. Molly was still dictating to Ginny, Kingsley was talking to Arthur and Dung appeared fast asleep. He assumed the other Weasley kids and Hermione were upstairs. Remus dropped his voice and said, "I'm going to search for a new Defense teacher. Dumbledore hasn't been able to find one and the ministry is keen to place one of their own at Hogwarts, ok? Better now?"

"You never could keep a secret, Moony," Sirius deadpanned before he bit back a chuckle.

"Thanks for that, you great git. You know what? I'm going to pack. I'll see you before I leave."

"I'll be around, that's for sure."

"By the way, do you call her that to her face? Nymphie?"

"Are you kidding? I'd prefer to keep all my bits right where they are, thanks very much."

* * *

_Notes to reviewers:_

_I am so overwhelmingly grateful for your reviews—I fully expected to post this just for my own pleasure at writing again; I never expected reviews. (Although, sometimes I would allow myself to hope.) Thank you all so much!_

_**Kanikan:** My first review ever! Thank you for your kind words. I hope you found this chapter satisfying._

_**Mr. Scribble:** Thanks. I'm sorry if they seem a little OOC, but it gets a little tricky since in canon we only ever really see the characters through the kids' eyes. Since I'm writing a story based on characters that exist but aren't fully flushed out in Rowling's books, I think it's fair to flush out their character a bit more, especially in adult-adult relationships. If you think I'm stepping way out of the character lines though, please do let me know. I appreciate you review!_

_**Mrs. Alicia Weasley, Mar, starnat :** Thank you! I hope you all like this chapter too._

_**nycgirl:** Thanks. The Lily look-alike moment is what set off the idea for my entire story. It just wouldn't leave me alone._

_**Mucada:** Your review gave me the biggest smile for the rest of my day. Thank you!_

_**Queriusole:** Like I've said before, your stories are what got me addicted to this ship in the first place. I'm flattered you liked my first chapter—hope you like the second too!_


	3. Travel, Fire, and Safety

Marauder Reminders

_Set during OotP, this is the untold story of Remus and Tonks: how they meet and their burgeoning friendship as the War continues to escalate around them._

_Author's Note:It's my first fanfic, so I'd really appreciate any suggestions you have to improve. I hope you enjoy! If you're interested, I've put some notes in my profile about their ages, etc. It's by no means necessary to read though some might find it interesting._

_Disclaimer: I'm just playing with my friends. I don't own any of them._

* * *

Chapter 3: Travel, Fire, and Safety 

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lupin. I just can't possibly do it." Emanuel Grunnion said as he shut the door.

Turning around to walk back down the road, Remus thought about how often he had heard that phrase or something similar in the past four weeks. Arnelda Tootshill in Newquay. Floyd Sawbridge in Cardiff. Samuel Stroulger in Slough. He'd been told "No" in almost every corner of the United Kingdom: Newcastle, Dover, the Isles of Scilly, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Belfast, Holyhead, Pembroke, the Aran Islands, Thurso and Stornoway, to name a few. Just running through the list made Remus weary. And it wasn't just the UK either. He'd been thoroughly rejected throughout the whole of both Eastern and Western Europe.

He'd interviewed every single witch or wizard he's ever heard of who might even be partially qualified, and when interviewing didn't work, he had tried pleading. Some refused because they had heard Dumbledore was losing his grip on reality. Some because they believed Voldemort had returned and wanted no part of it. Some because they had heard of their predecessors unfortunate ends. And some simply didn't want to teach.

After chasing down every hint of a lead, Remus was no closer to filling the Defense Against the Dark Arts position than he was the night before he left when he had told Sirius of the mission in that dirty, Doxy-infested drawing room.

_Dirty, Doxy-infested drawing room. I guess I do like alliteration, _Remus thought wryly as he sat down to dinner at a pub in the middle of Cork. _Dirty, Doxy-infested drawing room. _The phrase brought his mind back to the other thing that had been competing for his attention the last four weeks: Nymphadora Tonks.

He had especially liked her eye color the last time he had seen her. Bluish gray, the color reminded him of his favorite pewter chess set. He allowed his mind to wander over her as he finished his meal. _Does she change her eye color to reflect her mood? If so, what does chilling pewter mean? Had she been upset? He had seen her smiling at a comment Bill had made during the meeting so she couldn't have been too distressed. She hadn't stayed to talk to him though, so maybe she was upset with him specifically. _Remus shook his head and tried to bring his attention back to his task at hand. He pulled out a small black journal from his tweed jacket pocket. Opening it to the middle, he carefully drew a line through "Grunnion, Emanuel-Cork" and sighed. That had been his last lead. He had failed.

_Should I rescind my resignation? Who needs me more—the students at Hogwarts or the Order? Where would I be more effective? I've been looking forward to spending more time with Sirius now that he's not on the run. But who knows what kind of teacher the Minister will put in place. He could be another Lockhart, right at a time when the students **need **to be learning defense. But Severus informed some of the parents as to my condition and I'm sure that if I made a reappearance some of the parents would come after both Dumbledore and me. Everyone already thinks he's losing control. Rehiring me may be just what they need to force him out of Hogwarts for good, and then where would we all be?_

He stood, left some sickles on the table for his meal, and went to the small room upstairs that he had rented for the night. He had a letter to write and a potion to take.

* * *

It was four days after he sent his letter to Dumbledore when Remus finally returned to Grimmauld Place. He had waited out his transformation in hiding again and when he arrived, he went straight to his room and slept at Molly's insistence. Remus emerged from his room, at last, around midnight of his second full day of sleeping. He padded down the stairs to the library. He hadn't seen another person, with the exception of his brief encounter with Molly, in almost a week and he was hoping that at least one of the residents of the house would still be awake. 

The library, however, was empty and dark. Sighing, Remus looked over the bookshelves to see if a title grabbed his attention. Not wanting to bother with lighting the whole room, he whispered "Lumos" and searched by wand light. As he reached for a book (Interesting Incantations for Incarceration), he heard a loud thump behind him. Jumping around, he attempted to shine the soft light of his wand across the room into the sitting area that currently lay in shadows. He could barely make out a body, slowly lifting itself off the ground. "Halt!" Remus yelled.

The person giggled as they stood up. "Halt? Really, Remus… that's just archaic."

"Nymphadora?"

"What did I **_tell_** you about calling me that?" Even in the shadows, Remus could see that she was now standing with her hands on her hips.

"What are you doing in here?" Remus ignored her question. He had decided during his five weeks away that he didn't like the idea of calling her Tonks. It just didn't fit. He wasn't going to tell her that yet, though.

"Sleeping. Or was, until the floor woke me up. Must have rolled off the sofa."

Smiling, Remus moved to sit down on the couch and Tonks joined him. They sat in quiet darkness until Remus spoke. "Why were you sleeping on the couch?"

"Well, I've got a flat here in London, but I've been working such long days, what with my Auror shift during the day and Order missions at night. I was worried I wouldn't be able to apparate properly tonight," she yawned as if to prove her point. "Normally, I would have tried to commandeer a bed, but I must have fallen asleep reading," Tonks pointed to a book on the floor.

They fell into silence again. "Do you like being an Auror?"

"It has its moments. I like the idea of making the world a little safer. I don't like working for a ministry that can't see a forest for the trees, though. I'd rather work for the Order full time, but my connections at the ministry are precisely what make me useful to the Order in the first place."

"So… what's the Order been up to while I've been sleeping away the days?"

"Most recently, we've been discussing the logistics of picking up Harry, since his birthday has passed and Dumbledore feels like it's a good time." Tonks said, drawing her right foot up onto the cushion as she turned her entire body to face Remus. She rested her right arm on the back of the couch while her left hand played with her ankle under her jeans. She was barefoot.

"What are the options?" Remus turned his shoulders to face her as well, excited to be talking to someone again.

"Well," Tonks began, eyes twinkling even in the low light, apparently eager to talk Order strategy. "Obviously he can't apparate. Too easy to splinch without proper training, which we don't have time for. And the ministry is tightening up the Floo Network controls. We'd never get #12 by them without them realizing that, technically, the address doesn't exist."

"Guess that means a portkey is out too," Remus said.

"Yep. And it's too risky simply to drive a muggle car over," Tonks answered. "We can't agree on a solution. Moody wants us to use an illegal portkey. Says it's the hardest to trace, but Dumbledore isn't keen on doing anything that could be seen as breaking a law, especially with Harry directly involved."

"Interesting," Remus said. He became so involved in thinking of possible scenarios that he didn't notice Tonks start to fidget.

"Remus?" Tonks was looking at him, hesitation clear in her green eyes.

Drawn out of his thoughts, Remus looked up at her. When he finally registered the look on her face, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear her question. For some reason, his stomach dropped to his knees at the look in her eyes. She took his silence for anticipation and went ahead.

"What was the mission Dumbledore sent you on?"

A wave of relief washed over him. "I'm surprised Sirius didn't fill you in as soon as I left. Dumbledore wanted me to find a new Defense teacher for Hogwarts."

"That's it? What took you so long? Who did you find?"

"Nobody wants it. I interviewed over a hundred people. No one wants it," Remus looked at his knees and fingered an especially bare spot that would soon need a patch. "I failed," he said softly.

"Surely there's someone," Tonks said optimistically.

"No. There's not. Dumbledore and I have asked every qualified witch or wizard and even a few beyond that. Not even a glimmer of hope remains."

"Melodramatic much? What's the worst that could happen?"

"The ministry puts one of Fudge's biggest supporters into the position and they use the opportunity to spy, all the while neglecting to actually teach the students how to defend themselves at a time when they desperately need it."

Remus' statement was met with silence. He didn't look up, didn't want to watch the disappointment register in her eyes, as it was sure to do. They were plunged back into the dark quiet of the room.

Finally, she spoke. "Well, it's out your hands now. You did your best, I'm sure, and Dumbledore will figure something out. Let's think of how to rescue Harry."

Remus looked at his feet. Quickly he said, "I've been so rude. The first thing you said was how tired you were—I should let you get back to sleep. Goodnight." Remus moved to stand up.

Tonks stopped him by placing her hand on his arm. "Where are you going?" she asked, clearly surprised at his abruptness.

Dejected, Remus shrugged his shoulders.

"Remus? What aren't you telling me?"

He knew what he was about to say wasn't going to be popular, but there was no way she was going to let him leave now, and he couldn't possibly lie to her. "Maybe Harry should just wait out the summer at the Dursleys. It might be better for him."

"Better for him? **_Better_** for him? Are you out of your mind? Do you even know how he lives while he's there? Ron and Hermione have told me about it. I've heard of house-elves and dogs that are more beloved. There's no **_way_** we can leave him there. It's cruel," Tonks spat as she pulled her leg out from under her and moved to the chair beside the couch.

Remus felt the loss of her body heat and shivered slightly. He wrapped his arms in front of himself. "But if he's safe there, isn't that better?" Remus avoided her eyes. "Isn't his safety what this is all about?"

He stood up quickly and walked to the fireplace. He started a fire with his wand and stood at the mantle, fingering the serpentine carvings along it. He kept his back to Tonks but could feel her glare. Soon, he slumped his shoulders and hung his head as he said softly, "Do you really think I'm unaware of exactly how Harry is treated by those muggles? It pains me more that you could ever know, but I am not willing to sacrifice his very life so that any pain of mine would be eased. James and Lily gave their life to protect him. I will not throw that away."

"Don't give me that rubbish, Remus. James and Lily would not want him to stay there when there is another option. They'd want him to be around people who love him. You have to know that. You have to know they'd want him here, with you and Sirius and Hermione and Ron and the rest of the Weasleys…"

While she was speaking, Remus had turned around and locked his eyes onto her. Tonks faltered for a moment, then held his gaze and said, "It's never better to be safe and unloved."

_

* * *

Notes to reviewers: _

_**Kanikan**: Thanks for catching that mistake! I updated the last chapter. You are completely correct- Nymphie would have been born during their 3rd (ish) year. Sorry for the confusion. I thought I had it all worked out (seriously, you should see the timelines I've got), but even ended up confusing myself there. So sorry! _

_Thanks to **Mr. Scribble** (or is it Mrs. Cribble?) **nycgirl**, **Mucada**, and **Queriusole**. Your reviews are so encouraging and helpful!_


	4. Nymphadora, The Auror

_Marauder Reminders_

_Set during OotP, this is the untold story of Remus and Tonks: how they meet and their burgeoning friendship as the War continues to escalate around them._

_Author's Note:It's my first fanfic, so I'd really appreciate any suggestions you have to improve. I hope you enjoy! If you're interested, I've put some notes in my profile about their ages, etc. It's by no means necessary to read though some might find it interesting._

_Disclaimer: I'm just playing with my friends. I don't own any of them._

* * *

Chapter 4: Nymphadora, The Auror

"Well, what do we have here?" Sirius asked from his position leaning against the library doorjamb.

Remus looked up from the parchment he was writing on, balanced gently on top of his book. "Morning. Nymphadora and I," Remus stopped as a sleeping Tonks mumbled disagreeably (and incoherently) at the use of her name. Evidently, even her subconscious didn't like being called that. After she pulled her blanket over her head, Remus continued, "we were discussing the positive and negative aspects of the various methods to get Harry here."

"Seems to me you're discussing it all by yourself. She's dead to the world." Sirius crossed the room to sit in the chair opposite Remus. "Just couldn't bear to leave her, eh?"

"What?"

"Why didn't you go back to bed after she fell asleep, Remus?" Sirius asked. Remus remembered the look on his face well from their Hogwarts days. This was the look he got when he was asking a question he presumed to know the answer to already.

"All I've done the past two days is sleep. I wasn't tired and I don't recall when she fell asleep. I was too involved in trying to rescue Harry. Did Dumbledore completely rule out a portkey at last night's meeting?" Remus was desperate to change to the subject. Tonks turned over on the couch again, dislodging the blanket from over her head. Any minute, she could wake up and Remus didn't want her to hear Sirius insinuate something sordid going on between them.

"Come now. You'll have to do better than that to distract me." Sirius cocked his eyebrow at him.

Remus shot him a look that clearly said s_hut it._ Sirius responded silently, rolling his eyes to indicate that Tonks wasn't waking up any time soon. They sat, silently arguing with only their expressions and harsh whispers for several minutes. Remus felt like he was back in Professor Binn's class, trying to talk Sirius and James out of hexing Snape during the lecture. Finally, Sirius gave in. "Come on. I'll make an early tea before breakfast."

"Should we move her to a bedroom?" Remus asked as he stood, looking at her while she mumbled something in her sleep and wrinkled her nose slightly. He hadn't noticed last night in the dark of the room, but her hair was long and a deep, almost sapphire blue. It was also in her face and apparently tickling her nose.

"Unless you feel like carrying her up the stairs to your room and explaining to her later how she got there, I'd say leave her be."

* * *

About two hours later a very bleary-eyed Tonks entered the kitchen, which was already full of the other residents of Grimmauld Place. "Morning, she said groggily as she made her way to the table. Right before she made it to the empty seat between Remus and Fred, she stumbled and fell forward into Fred's back. "Sorry," she mumbled. Fred blushed to the tips of his ears as she dropped, unceremoniously, into the empty seat.

Remus was busy quietly discussing the latest patrols with Arthur. "It was quiet as a church mouse last night. Not a single person to be seen all night. Kingsley's on duty tonight. We'll work you into the rotation schedule, now that you're back, if you'd like. Emmeline is shadowing Harry today, and then Mundungus and Arabella will this evening. Things have been quiet all around."

"Nymphadora-" Remus started only to be cut off by Tonks herself.

"Remus," she said sharply. Her voice held all the warning; she didn't even turn her head from her conversation with the twins.

"—was telling me about the Order's discussion on retrieving Harry," Remus continued as if Tonks hadn't said anything. "What do you think we should do, Arthur?"

His calm demeanor belied his racing pulse. _How long will she let me get away with this? Do I dare try again? _He had to admit, there was something in this defiance of her will that he found thrilling. He didn't really hear Arthur's response; he was too focused on the witch next to him and the tense feeling that was almost radiating off of her. He heard Fred lean over and say softly to her, "Would you mind if we modeled our Chameleon Chew after you? I mean, we were thinking, and… well, what girl wouldn't want to look like you?" He blushed thoroughly, again.

"But you don't really know what I look like Fred," Tonks said in an amused voice.

"I'd love to find out," he replied seriously.

"Would you pass the toast, Nymphadora?"

Tonks' head snapped around and she gave Remus a terrifying look. The table fell silent. It appeared everyone was waiting to see what punishment would befall him for using her given name twice in one morning. For his part, Remus just smiled sweetly at her and pointed to the plate of toast by her glass of pumpkin juice.

"We could have played Quidditch if he wanted to be a bludger that bad. She's going to kill him," Ron said in a loud whisper to Hermione, who was seated across the table from him.

His comment broke the tension. Bill let out a loud laugh and even Tonks smiled. She still gave Remus a glare, but she returned to eating after she passed the toast. Remus, however, was now focused on something completely different: Quidditch.

As the kids left the table, begrudgingly, to clean the library on Molly's orders, Remus quickly cast a silencing charm on the door and cleared his throat. "I know how to get Harry. We fly."

Tonks had the day off, so she, Remus and Sirius spent the morning and afternoon holed up in Remus' room, pouring over maps and devising a strategy to pick up Harry with a team of Order members on broomsticks. They worked straight through lunch. Remus hadn't seen Sirius so excited about something in a long time. He kept interspersing stories during their planning, stories of watching Harry's Quidditch game two years ago (as a dog) and telling Tonks how much like James he looked and flew. As he went on, he became more and more animated in his retelling. Soon the stories shifted to the Marauder days and his favorite pranks they had pulled. At one point, he was acting out how they would return to their dorm early in the morning, using the Marauder's Map to keep from being caught. Tonks asked questions here and there, clearly enjoying the chance to get to know her cousin. "So, what was Remus here like back then?"

"Same as he is now, really. Conflicted. Never could quite give himself fully over to the mischief." Sirius said, glancing at Remus.

"Oh, I gave myself over plenty of times. I just liked to study too. Don't forget the map was my idea in the first place."

"Ahh… yes. But that just kind of proves my point. It was your idea to create an illegal map so we wouldn't get caught breaking the rules. See, Tonks? Conflicted."

"I see your point, Sirius. I think there's a definite layer of mischievousness under that scholarly persona," Tonks said, looking fondly at Remus.

"Without Sirius to egg me on and drag me into dangerous situations the past thirteen years, I think it's safe to say I've grown out of it," Remus said as he began to roll up the maps on the floor. "Let's get dinner."

"Don't kid yourself, Remus. You never grow out of a wicked streak," Tonks replied. "Sometimes it just lies dormant for a while."

* * *

That night after dinner, the Weasley family, Remus, Tonks and Sirius were relaxing in the newly cleaned library. While Hermione and Ron played a game of chess and Ginny and the twins played Exploding Snap, the adults discussed when the next Order meeting would be. It had been planned for three days later; Sirius was wondering aloud if it could be moved up in order to spare Harry from the Dursleys a few extra days. In the middle of Arthur's reply, a bright flame appeared in the room, followed by a golden phoenix feather.

"Harry!" Molly gasped.

The room sprang into action. Hermione and Ron were suddenly standing, Ron holding Hermione in an awkward hug. Ginny sat with her hand over her mouth and the twins stared at each other. "I'll go to Albus," Arthur said as he sprinted to the door.

Sirius stood and began pacing, alternately wringing his hands and running them through his hair angrily. Tonks stood to her feet and said, "Remus, come with me."

Remus just looked at her. _Where could she possibly be going now?_

Tonks saw the question in his eyes before he asked it. "The ministry, Remus. Kingsley's on duty. If you replace him, he and I can see what's going on from the inside."

Instantly Remus jumped to his feet and moved to follow her. As they walked through the foyer, Tonks laid out the plans. "We'll apparate to my flat—the corner of Drury and Dumbarton, you know it? Good. Apparate there, we'll Floo to the ministry." By the time she had finished they were standing outside and #12 Grimmauld Place was shrinking back into secrecy. "See you there."

Remus allowed himself one small moment to appreciate Nymphadora just then. Her quick, confident, good decision; the economical way she moved and talked; the succinct logistical planning. He knew before that she was an Auror, but seeing her in action put her in an entirely new light.

He apparated to the corner she had indicated, located in the heart of wizarding London. He saw her at a building across the street from where he was, the door to which she already had open and waiting. "Here, Remus!"

As he got to the door, she tore off down the hallway and up the staircase. "I'm on the third floor," she said as she ran up the stairs two at a time, with Remus close behind. On the third floor, she ran down the corridor toward the door at the end. As she ran, she said a complicated incantation, and the door unlocked and opened just as she reached it, never breaking her stride. Remus followed her in and, slightly winded, rested his hands on his knees while she reset the wards on her door. She strode to the fireplace and reached for a black jewelry box on the mantle. She held the box of Floo powder out to him and smiled. "Sorry for all the running."

Remus straightened his back immediately, a little embarrassed.

"I'll go first to make sure everything's clear. It's late so there shouldn't be too many people hanging around. Follow in two minutes." She climbed in the fireplace, threw the powder down and said clearly, "Ministry of Magic".

When she was gone, Remus used his two minutes to survey her flat from his position by the fireplace. He had been expecting a tidy place, like Lily had kept the Potter's house. What he found reminded him more of his old dorm room back at Hogwarts. Between him, Peter, Sirius and James there had been an odd hodge-podge of things always strewn about, reflecting their varied personalities. Here, he noticed two bookshelves on the far wall that were stuffed beyond capacity, with stacks of books in front of them on the floor. There were stacks of books all over the small apartment. Piles of folded clothes were stacked on several chairs, as if she had done laundry but never bothered to put it away. Her record collection sat next to, on, and around her record player, completely unorganized. _Not messy, really… just very lived-in. _At the end of his two minutes, he stepped into her fireplace and followed her to the ministry.

"All's clear. Let's go." And again, she ran down the hall and Remus followed. They soon reached Kingsley. Tonks quickly explained to him what had happened and almost before she finished, Kingsley was handing the invisibility cloak to Remus. They began to run back down the hallway towards their offices. When they reached the end, just before they turned the corner, Tonks stopped. "As soon as we know anything, Remus, I'll let you know. I'm sure he's fine."

Remus couldn't answer. A lump had formed in his throat while she had been explaining the situation to Kingsley. Her decision back in Grimmauld Place (a scant ten minutes earlier) hadn't let the full weight of the situation settle on him. Harry was in danger. All he could do was look at her and hope she saw the thankfulness in his eyes. And then she was gone, leaving Remus alone with only his thoughts.

* * *

"Just after nine o'clock tonight, Harry was attacked by Dementors. Due to a lapse in our guard over him, he was forced to conjure a patronus to drive them away in front of his cousin Dudley. For this, Fudge plans to prosecute him under both the Restriction on Underage Sorcery and the Statute of Secrecy. We're unsure at this time if the Dementors were acting on orders from Voldemort or from someone within the ministry who is displeased with Harry."

An emergency meeting of the Order was in progress. Dumbledore finished explaining what had happened in the Surrey alleyway and what had transpired immediately following. "As it stands, Harry is not expelled. He will have a trial on August 12th to determine his fate. Arthur, I'd like you to escort him there please. I shall attend." The faces around the table looked grave; no one said a word.

"Remus, I understand you have a plan to retrieve Harry?" Dumbledore asked after he had finished the debriefing.

"Yes, Headmaster." Remus stood and outlined the plans he, Sirius and Tonks had developed just that afternoon. It seemed like forever ago that they had been holed up in his room pouring over maps and listening to Sirius' stories. Remus glanced at Sirius. His jaw was set and he was glaring down the table at Mundungus, who was carefully avoiding looking at Sirius. "Do I have any volunteers for the advance guard?" Remus asked when he finished explaining the route they were to take to Surrey and back.

To his surprise, almost every hand around the table raised.

"Are you sure the boy is up for it? It's not only a long flight; we could see some action up there," Moody asked.

"Harry is the best damn flyer I've ever seen, and that includes James. He can handle it."

"Well, who's the best flyer among us? Kingsley? We have enough volunteers for two separate teams, advance and rear guards, but they'll need some coordination. We're going to need a point person on this," Moody said, one eye on Kingsley and his magical eye on Remus.

"We already gave a point man, Mad-Eye," Tonks interjected. "Remus. It's his idea, his plan… not to mention he's the only one Harry knows." She met Remus' eyes as she said this and gave him a soft smile before she looked away.

"I don't have to lead it," Remus said slowly. "If there's someone more qualified…"

"No, Remus. This is your mission," Tonks said firmly.

They finalized the plans and decided to leave in three days. That would give the diversion letter Tonks was sending to the Dursleys enough time to reach them. At the end of the meeting, Remus and Tonks started cleaning up as everyone filed out. They worked in silence until they heard a large commotion in the hall. They shared a brief look and moved to the door to investigate. When they reached the source, they found Mundungus pinned against the wall by Sirius, who looked murderous.

"If you **ever** endanger my godson's life again, Dung, you will not live to see another galleon. Your death will not be painless. Am I clear?" Sirius' voice was a steel blade of anger as he slammed Mundungus against the wall once more for good measure.

"Sirius!" Remus strode over to the two men and pried Sirius' hands from Dung's neck. Dung coughed a bit, holding his neck as he walked briskly to the door. Sirius wrenched himself from Remus' grasp and straightened his robes. Then, he turned wordlessly and stormed upstairs.

With a heavy sigh, Remus sank to the floor with his back against the wall and placed his head in his hands. He felt Tonks join him, their shoulders barely touching.

"All right there, Remus?" She asked softly after a few minutes as she fiddled with a bracelet on her wrist.

Remus sighed again before answering, "Yes, I'll be fine." After another moment passed he said, "Thanks for sticking up for me in there, Nymphadora."

Her body tensed at her name. Before Remus could register what was happening, he was on his stomach on the floor and Tonks was straddling him, twisting his left arm behind him painfully. "I've given you more grace on this than I normally do, Mr. Lupin," she purred into his ear as she leaned over his back. "Kindly promise not to use my given name again."

"I—I can't do that, Nymphadora." He winced as she wrenched his arm again.

"And why not, Mr. Lupin?"

"Be-because Nymphadora—ow—is so much prettier than Tonks. It suits you better."

"What?" In her surprise she let his arm go, but she stayed straddled across his lower back.

"I think there are worse names out there. Yours is rather nice."

She moved off of his back. As they returned to their original positions beside each other, they both blushed. After a moment, Tonks asked, "For example?"

Remus smiled. "Well, I had an Aunt Egwene."

_

* * *

Notes to Reviewers:_

_**Starnat: **Thanks!_

_**Shamira: **Your review made me smile—I'm glad you've enjoyed the fic so far. Hope you like this new chapter!_

_**Kanikan: **I really appreciate your reviews… they're so helpful! I agree with you completely on the Remus calling her Nymphadora thing… more on that later._

_**Nycgirl: **Thanks for complimenting the dialogue... it's always the hardest part for me to write. I constantly rewrite and rewrite and rewrite it… I think it's where a lot of fanfics break down (the dialog is too preachy or stunted or weird or doesn't sound right) and I live in constant fear of that. _


	5. Messengers

Marauder Reminders

_Set during OotP, this is the untold story of Remus and Tonks: how they meet and their burgeoning friendship as the War continues to escalate around them._

_Author's Note: I was sick last week, and this was a particularly difficult chapter to write. Still not quite sure I like it. (But that may just be because it hits a little close to home.)_

_Disclaimer: I'm just playing with my friends. I don't own any of them._

* * *

Chapter 5: Messengers 

Remus was walking down the stairs of Grimmauld Place, struggling with the clasp on his traveling cloak. He stopped halfway down when he heard the twinkling giggle he had come to associate with Nymphadora. He looked up from the clasp to see her standing with Fred Weasley, who was telling her something softly in her ear. As she laughed again, she looked up and saw Remus. She smiled broadly at him, and gently pushed Fred back. "Sorry, Fred. We've got to get going."

Remus and Tonks were on duty that night, shadowing Harry. He had been locked in his room since the Dementor incident the night before, so their assignment was just to walk the neighborhood for a while and then sit down the street from his house through the night. Remus' stomach had done a little flip when Arthur Weasley had told him he was to share his first shift with the young Auror. He recognized the feeling of nervousness rising again as he she looked at him now. "Ready to go?" he asked, still fumbling with his clasp.

"Ready when you are," she said. "Here, let me," and before he could object, she brushed his hands away, fastened the clasp at this throat and smoothed the fabric of the cloak over his shoulders. Remus gave a slight shudder at the touch. She grinned at him for a moment.

Fred cleared his throat. Remus looked up guiltily and Tonks turned back around. "I guess we'll finish our discussion later, eh, Tonks? Hope you don't get bored tonight," Fred said, giving a small glare to Remus.

"See you later, Fred," Tonks replied cheerfully.

Remus and Nymphadora walked outside together. "See you in a minute," Tonks said with a wink and then apparated to a park near Harry's house in Surrey. Remus immediately followed with a loud crack. Once there, he threw the invisibility cloak over himself and made sure he was completely covered. When he looked up, he burst into laughter.

"What?" a now 90-year-old Tonks asked irritably.

"Nothing… just not what I'm used to, I guess," he replied, taking a good look. Not for the first time, he was amazed at her ability to change herself so completely. Her body was no longer young and lithe, but thick. Her back was hunched and her ankles had completely disappeared. Her hair had been a violent shade of magenta when they left the house; it was now completely silver and wiry. If not for the distinct twinkle in her blue eyes, he'd have forgotten she was the same person.

"Let's get a move on, shall we, Remus?"

As they walked around the neighborhood, slowly in order to keep Tonk's disguise, an awkward silence settled between them. Finally, Tonks said, "Bit weird, isn't it? How all the houses look the same?"

"Harry told me once that they like it that way. They try very hard to look like everyone else. That's why they hate Harry—he messes things up."

"I've never met him, but I already feel sorry for him."

They walked in silence again. After a long while they came upon a bench. "We can see Harry's house from here. Let's sit," Tonks said.

Remus joined her on the bench. They fell back into silence and Remus found himself studying her. Even in her 90-year-old disguise, she moved with a definite fluid grace. He found himself wondering what she truly looked like, if the heart-shaped face he had come to know so well was real, if her hair color resembled Sirius', what shape her mouth took. He wondered what she had looked like as a baby that had brought the name Nymphadora to her mother's mind. _Nymphadora_.

"Agamemnon," Remus said suddenly.

"What was that?" Tonks asked, laughing.

"Agamemnon. That's a name worse than Nymphadora. He led the Greeks in the Trojan War, and was killed by his wife, whose name was Clytemnestra. And that's _another_ name that's much worse than Nymphadora."

"That is bad," she replied, casting a sideways glance in his direction. She paused before adding, "You know, no one else has this incessant need to call me Nymphadora."

"Not even Fred?" Remus asked before he could check himself. _Why did I say **that**?_

"Why do you think he would?" she asked, looking in his direction more fully this time, obviously curious.

"I just think you may have a very serious Weasley crush to contend with," Remus said, thankful she couldn't see him at the moment. His face felt hot and he couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"I don't know about a crush… he's just intrigued by the morphing, that's all. Add to that the fact that I'm the closest Order member to their age and a bit of a prankster myself…"

"Intrigued by the morphing?"

"Yeah, a lot of guys are at first. It wears off, trust me." Remus couldn't help but notice her face darken for a brief moment.

"Well, my understanding is that when a Weasley falls for someone, they fall rather hard."

"Don't we all fall hard, Remus?"

Remus didn't have an answer. He swallowed with a bit of difficulty, and the conversation settled back into silence. He jumped when a while later Tonks interrupted the silence again. "Tell me a story."

"I've never been known for my storytelling abilities, Nymphadora," Remus smiled.

"Well, tell me about some of the unqualified wizards you interviewed."

"What?"

"The unqualified wizards you interviewed. There must be at least a couple of stories from your five weeks away to help pass the time."

Remus paused, thinking back over those five weeks, wracking his brain for a funny anecdote. "Well, there was this one wizard in Liverpool. He kept using these words that I don't think he understood, but thought they sounded good. When I finished telling him about the job he said," Remus paused again, trying to remember exactly how the wizard had worded his response. "He said, 'While it sounds like an inspirational profession via your superb rendition of the facts vis-à-vis Dumbledore, I'm not sure I'd excel at commandeering children, AKA for you,'" Remus chuckled at the memory. "I just looked at him, expecting him to laugh but he didn't. Complete nonsense. He didn't even really say anything, though he was speaking sure enough."

Tonks started laughing madly. "I can only imagine the look on your face. Priceless."

"That night, I thought about what he'd actually be like in the classroom—'Children, when confronting a Dementor, once must seek to propagate and corrugate the offending protagonist in order to originate and obligate the enemy…'" Remus began, imitating the wizard's high-pitched, nasal way of speaking and insane hand movements.

"AKA for you!" Tonks finished for him, before letting out one of her tremendous giggles. "Unbelievable."

"He was probably the worst of the bunch, now that I think about it." Remus said after their laughter had subsided.

They continued talking then for hours—Tonks talked about her years in Hogwarts and how she came into the Order. Remus talked about being reunited with Sirius after 12 years, and what he thought about the first time he had met Harry. Remus was glad the awkward silences at the beginning of the night had given way to this easy conversation. In the early hours of the morning, silence fell once again, and Remus found himself lingering over his thoughts of Nymphadora. _She is, quite possibly, the most adorable creature I've ever met._

"Remus?" Tonks asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Will you take off the cloak, please?"

When he hesitated, she said with a hint of exasperation, "Really, Remus, it's 4am. Our shift is almost over and no one is awake. It's ok."

_If only that was what I was worried about. _But he took off the cloak anyway when he saw how earnestly she was looking at him. He ran his hands through his hair nervously.

"Thanks," she said. Remus wasn't sure but he thought he saw a hint of a blush creep across her wrinkled cheeks. "I can't have this conversation looking like this. One sec," she said as she concentrated and morphed into a much younger, much more familiar visage. Remus just watched her, breathing deeply and trying not to notice how close they were to each other on the bench.

She turned to face him, and their eyes locked. After a long moment of just looking at each other, Tonks reached out her hand and touched his face. He kept looking at her. When she ran a finger along the prominent scar that ran from his right eyebrow, down along his nose to just below his lip, his breathing hitched. When her fingers touched his bottom lip again, Remus turned his head away, not wanting her to see the tears forming in his eyes. _It's been so long since I've been touched. How can I not disgust her?_

"How did you get your scars, Remus?" Tonks asked quietly.

Remus snapped his head around and searched her eyes. _She doesn't know. Sweet Merlin, she doesn't know._ When he didn't answer, she reached her hand out to touch his face again.

"Please, Remus. I want you to tell me," she said, her eyes pleading with his. Just as her hand made contact with his face again, Remus recoiled and stood to his feet.

"Remus, wait," Tonks said as she stood and grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"Mad-Eye will be here shortly for the next shift; I imagine you can handle it by yourself until then. I'm going back to headquarters."

"Remus, I'm sorry. Please, don't" Tonks began again, but Remus just shook his head before he walked away with his head down, not waiting for her to finish.

* * *

When Remus made it back to Grimmauld Place, he went straight to his room, thankful no one was awake in the house at that hour. He lay down on his bed and began berating himself. _How could you possibly be so bloody stupid?_ _You've made a complete and total arse of yourself, Lupin. I can't believe you let yourself get attached. Can't believe you thought she wouldn't care about the bloody werewolf. You great, great prat. She just didn't know. Git._

Remus stood up and began pacing. _Well, I have to tell her. I really don't want to. _He thought about her touch, how it had almost ruined him. So gentle, tender…. He had wanted to touch her back, to caress her cheek…. _I can't tell her. I can't. But she deserves to know, you prat. She has to know. You have to tell her._

Remus stopped pacing. He picked up his rucksack and packed enough for a night and a long day away. He went to wake Sirius.

"I really don't think this is a good idea, Moony. She's not going to like it coming from me." Sirius was running his hands through his hair, fully awake now that Remus had explained the situation. He was trying to convince Remus to stay and tell Tonks himself. "I can't do it. I won't. She needs to hear it from you."

Remus whipped around to face Sirius and said savagely, "Remember that day after you nearly killed Snape by sending him to me during my transformation? You begged me to forgive you, offered my any service to the world's end, remember? Well, I'm redeeming that promise now. Tell her I'm a werewolf. Just let it slip or tell her straight out over tea, I don't care. Just make she knows by the time I get back tomorrow afternoon." And before Sirius could reply, Remus grabbed his rucksack from the floor and left.

He ended up at the Shrieking Shack. He hadn't planned on going there. He hadn't even really thought of where he would go when he left Grimmauld Place. He just knew he wanted someplace that was far away from her, far away from her soft hands, lilting voice, caring eyes. The Shrieking Shack reminded him of the horrors of his past, of his transformations before the Marauders became Animagi and joined him. He thought about all those nights he had spent here during his school years, how he would wake in the morning, sobbing and in pain. He remembered one morning in particular, the night he had clawed himself almost to death, leaving behind the scar on his face that Nymphadora had so gently traced this morning.

_Nymphadora._

There had been a moment this morning, sitting on that bench with her, when he wondered if she could love the beast. She had been treating him so… so… _normally_. Not like Molly, with her worried glances and comments about not eating. Or Sirius, with his affectionate teasing and beast comments. Or the twins, who had taken to asking him questions about the moon and its effects and wondering if it had any bearing on their projects. Or Hermione even, who seemed to have taken up Werewolf Rights as a small add-on to her campaign for House-Elves.

Nymphadora had been different. She had talked to him about her, and about him_, the man_. She had wondered about his feelings, asked him questions… she had treated him like he was just another man. _That's because she didn't know she was with a beast, you idiot._

Remus sank down on the dusty, broken bed and cried bitterly. He cried for what he had lost—a rare sense of normalcy and a new friend. He cried for his humanity, which he felt like had been stolen from him all over again.

* * *

When he came back to Grimmauld Place the next day, he was unprepared for what was waiting for him. He could deal with what is normally described as anger, but this cold, calculated, simmering rage was wholly unfamiliar to him. She radiated malice—he could feel the stiffness of her muscles in his own body, could feel how barely contained her wrath towards him was at that moment. Remus was scared. 

She sat in the armchair in his room, which she had turned to face the door. There were no books around her, no mug of tea, no sign of preoccupation at all. Her eyes were on him the instant he walked in the door, as if she had been approximating in her mind his height and locked her eyes onto the space on the door that was equal to his eyes, just waiting for him to walk in the door so she would not waste a millisecond in searching them out. He damned his luck for not running into someone in the house before he reached his room so that they could warn him of the danger lurking there. And then he wondered if it was bad luck, or if she had engineered their activities that afternoon so that no one would be able to inform him. For a brief moment, Remus concentrated on the cold doorknob that was still in his hand, behind him. _I could still run,_ he thought briefly._ You are a 36-year-old werewolf who has seen countless deaths and bloody battles. You will not run away from an angry woman._

When the door behind him slammed shut suddenly and locked, he regretted that decision for a moment. He took a faltering step further into the room.

"Am I of so little consequence to you that you couldn't be bothered to tell me yourself? Is that why you sent your lackey?" Tonks asked. Her voice was like glass: smooth, clear and sharp. He rarely heard such controlled malevolence. Remus trembled slightly, instantly recognizing the fact that he had made a mistake. A big one.

"Nymphadora"

"NO!" Tonks yelled. "You've lost any right you may have had to call me that, Lupin," she said, quickly regaining the stoic control in her voice.

Remus took a step back. Tonks said a complicated incantation under her breath, and suddenly Remus could no longer move. Only his face seemed unaffected by her incantation, and he found himself, once again commending her in his mind for a well-executed spell.

"Tell me." The malice was back again.

"Tell you what? What do you want me to say, Tonks?"

"I'm giving you the chance to correct something. Don't screw it up. How. Did. You. Get. Your. Scars, Lupin?" Tonks was standing now, directly in front of him, staring into his eyes. He closed them.

"NO! Look at me and tell me, Remus."

He opened his eyes. She was seething. Her fists were clenched by her sides, and her eyes were watering. She was trembling and said through clenched teeth, "For the love of everything holy, Lupin. Tell me your god-damned bloody self, you coward."

He wished he could turn back time, to go back to that bench on Privet Drive, to go back to when she was touching his face so tenderly and asking him softly to tell her. He didn't want to tell her like this, with her body quaking with suppressed rage and hatred in her eyes and voice. He didn't want to say what she already knew, didn't want to confirm the fact that he was a monster, and not just one day a month but a monster who couldn't even tell a friend what she had wanted to know, what she had asked him to tell her so sweetly, so beautifully on a bench early on asummer morning.

His eyes watered at his thoughts and her face became blurry in front of him. He blinked several times, tears silently spilling onto his cheeks, and he wished he could move his arms, wished he could wipe them away quickly. With a heavy sigh, he said "Every month at the full moon, I turn into a werewolf. These scars on my face, as well as the ones all over the rest of my body, are from the years before the Wolfsbane Potion was created, and I'd attack myself."

She sat down on the armchair again, and put her head in her hands. He heard her mutter something under her breath, and then felt her incantation release him from the invisible bonds. He sat down on his bed, mirroring her posture. Neither spoke for several minutes.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me?" Tonks' voice cracked.

Remus didn't look up from his hands, kept his eyes trained on the piece of dirty carpet currently under his feet. "I thought you knew."

"That's not what I asked. Why didn't **YOU** tell me?"

"I couldn't. I should have, I know. But I thought you knew, so when you were touching my face and suddenly asking what I thought you already knew… I couldn't bear it. I couldn't see the repulsion cross your face."

"Repulsion?" Tonks looked up.

"Yes, repulsion. Like now," Remus said bitterly.

"I am not repulsed. Don't you even _think_ you can try and put this argument off onto my being repulsed by you being a werewolf, because that's not what this is bloody about and you know it," Tonks spat at him.

"It's not?" Remus looked up, hopeful.

"NO! It's about me thinking we were friends when clearly you don't give a shite."

"Wait one second. I do care. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to lose your friendship."

Tonks let out a long, shrill scream of anger. Remus looked around quickly, scared out of his wits. She began throwing things at him. First the pillows off the chair, then a nearby blanket and soon it escalated to books. Remus ducked most of these things, but one particularly thick book caught him in his shoulder. He winced. She stopped, apparently realizing that she could actually hurt him by throwing books. "Sorry 'bout the book," she said begrudgingly as she sat back down on the now cushion-less chair. Remus sat back down on the bed, head in his hands again.

"You do realize how idiotic what you said was, right? Making someone else tell me you're a werewolf because you don't want to lose my friendship?"

"Well, I wasn't exactly thinking clearly. Besides, I've lost plenty of friends that way. It's not my fault that the precedence has been set," Remus said, looking up again. "So what do we do now?"

"I don't know. I make it a point to not be friends with people who don't trust me, which you clearly don't."

"And I don't trust many people. I have a particularly hard time with ones who throw books at me."

"Don't joke about this," Tonks said, a small smile attempting to break free.

Remus sighed. "I don't know what to tell you, Tonks, other than I'd like to try to be your friend."

"And I'd like to let you," she said sadly as she stood to leave. "Please don't hurt me again, Remus. I don't think I could take it."

"I don't know if I can promise that," Remus said softly.

"Well, can you promise that the next time I ask you to tell me something, you'll either tell me yourself or tell me that you can't tell me?" Nymphadora said just as softly, looking at him.

Remus could tell that any chance he had at keeping her friendship rested in his answer to this question. "I promise, no more messengers."

_

* * *

Notes to Reviewers: _

_**Mr. Scribble:**_ _Glad you liked Aunt Egwene.:)_

_**Kanikan: **Thanks for your review—I look forward to hearing what you think about each chapter! I'm trying hard to get Tonks right, let me know if I let you down._

_**JennyKim2007: **For what it's worth, I prefer LupinLover88. Thanks for reviewing! Is Remus right, though? Is it better to be safe and unloved? _

_**Starnat: **Bet good ol' Aunt Egwene didn't think her name was exotic:) Glad you like the story._

_**Lou. McGonagall:** Love your name! Louisa—just like in Jane Austen's Persuasion, which just happens to be my favorite Austen book. Anyway… here's your next chapter. Hope you enjoy!_


	6. Retrieving Harry

Marauder Reminders

_Set during OotP, this is the untold story of Remus and Tonks: how they meet and their burgeoning friendship as the War continues to escalate around them._

_Author's Note: I hope you like this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I'm just playing with my friends. I don't own any of them._

* * *

Chapter 6: Retrieving Harry 

The advance guard was leaving that night to pick up Harry. About two hours before they were scheduled to leave, Remus went downstairs to the kitchen. Tonks was there, talking with Ginny and Hermione over tea. Ron (he guessed by the frantic noises he had heard coming from his room when he passed by) was cleaning his room to prepare for Harry's arrival. Tonks looked up and gave him a small, sheepish smile before returning her attention to Ginny's plan to prank the twins. Remus helped himself to some of Molly's leftover treacle tart and joined them, sitting across the table from Tonks. Ginny and Hermione shared a meaningful look before Hermione announced that they should be helping Ron and left the room, pulling Ginny behind her.

"So… um… you all ready for the mission tonight?" Tonks asked awkwardly after they left. She stared at the table.

"Think so," he replied. He stared at her,staring at the table.

"Good. That's good." She fidgeted in her seat for a moment before declaring, "I've got to use the loo," as she stood up and left the room.

_James always said I could clear a room in a minute flat,_ Remus thought. He finished his tart in silence and went to look for Sirius.

"It was awkward as all Hell, Remus. Don't make me do something like that again."

Remus had found him in his room, searching for his old Quidditch set. He wanted to give it to Harry since James had always enjoyed playing with the snitch so much. "Bloody Regulus stole the damn thing back at Hogwarts, I know it," Sirius said, finally giving up. He sat down on the bed and looked at Remus. "Honestly though, Remus. She was quite upset."

"We worked it out. I won't make you do something like that again, I swear. Thanks for doing it though," Remus said as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Too right you won't, you git..." Sirius was cut off by a loud crash in the hallway, followed by his mother's screams.

"SPAWN OF MY DISDAIN! ROTTING FLESH OF SORROWS! A FOUL SHIFTER, AN UNNATURAL FREAK!"

They ran to the hallway to find Tonks, desperately trying (and failing) to upright the troll foot umbrella stand in order to get to the portrait. Sirius yanked the curtains closed while Remus helped Tonks. As soon as calm was restored, Tonks quickly darted into the library without a word.

"Thought you said you two were ok?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow at Remus.

"I thought we were," Remus said sadly as he made his way into the library.

She was walking back and forth in front of the fireplace in the fair end of the room. "How can I be your friend if you keep leaving every room I enter?" Remus asked from just inside the doorway.

Tonks looked up quickly and stopped her pacing. "I don't leave every," she started, but stopped mid-sentence. She resolutely avoided looking at Remus for several moments before she sighed heavily and said, "I'm just embarrassed, Lupin. I think I completely over-reacted back then, when, well, you know…I don't know what came over me, truly. You have every right to handle things your own way and I …" she trailed off.

He looked at her intently, waiting for her to finish. When she looked up to see him looking at her, she just shrugged and didn't continue.

"Remus."

"Huh?" Tonks looked up, confused at his one-word sentence.

"Call me Remus, please. Not everyone prefers their last name, you know," he said.

She smiled. It was the first real smile he'd seen since they were on the bench together, and his heart leapt at the sight. She was using her foot to draw circles on the dirty carpet, and the small action made her seem young, innocent even.

"Speaking of, Remus," she placed a special emphasis on his name, "how are you going to introduce me to Harry tonight?"

Remus looked at her for a long moment. _That's a strange question._ "Well, it will probably go something like 'Harry, meet Nymphadora. Nymphadora, Harry.'"

"No, no… see… you have to call me Tonks tonight. Try it again."

"Really, Nymphadora, I don't need to practice," he said, amused.

"I think you do," she replied. Her eyes were twinkling. "You've never properly used my last name, and it's important to me that you get it right."

"Why is that again?"

"Well," she began as she took a step closer. "If I'm introduced to Harry as 'Nymphadora', that's how he'll refer to me in front of the others… and then Ron, Ginny, Hermione and probably even the twins will start to do the same, and we can't have that, now can we?"

"They could call you Hephzibah instead," Remus said with a smirk.

"What was that name?" Tonks started giggling. "That's ridiculous!"

"Hephzibah. She was the mother of King Manasseh and the wife of King Hezekiah of Israel," Remus gave a small laugh before continuing. "Isn't Nymphadora so much more pleasing? Nymphadora… _Nymph-_adora. Lovely, really."

Tonks was staring at him. He gave her a small smile and she shook her head quickly before responding. "Really, Remus. Please, _please_ just use Tonks tonight, ok? To save me from four Weasleys, Hermione and Harry refusing to call me anything else?"

He nodded and Tonks started pacing again. She seemed a bundle of nervous energy, hands wringing while she took seven steps, turned around, then walked seven paces back. Seven. Turn. Seven. Turn. Remus found that he couldn't look away; her movements were hypnotizing him. _She's usually so calm and collected… what could possibly have her this rattled? She has to calm down._

"Are you going to wear your hair like that tonight?" Remus asked suddenly.

Her pacing stopped again and her hand quickly ran through the short violet locks. "Why do you ask? Do I look bad?"

"Not bad, just a little… peaked, I'd say."

It wasn't much, but it was just enough to distract her.

"Peaked?" She said with a touch of ice in her voice. Remus would have thought he had offended her, if it weren't for the corner of her eyes scrunching up slightly in amusement. She looked in the mirror hanging above the fireplace, and ran a hand through her hair again. "Violet happens to be one of my favorite hair colors."

"I prefer pink," Remus said, turning slightly pink himself.

"Well, I'm leaving it violet," Tonks was fully smiling at him now.

"As you wish," Remus said, giving a little bow before he left.

When he reached the door, he heard Tonks say quietly behind him, "Remus, wait one second."

He turned around to see her walking over to him. He stood where he was, waiting for her to continue, half-expecting her to make him practice saying her name. Instead, she suddenly threw her arms around his shoulders and gave him a hug. Stunned, he kept his arms to his sides.

"Thank you," she whispered into his ear. Then, as quickly as it had happened, the hug ended. Tonks stepped back, and then moved past Remus and jogged up the stairs.

* * *

Remus shifted uncomfortably on his broom. It had been well over 15 years since he had last ridden one, and in his confidence in Harry's ability he had not stopped to consider his own. Not only was it supremely cold in the damp English sky, his legs were burning from the lactic acid build-up induced by holding his legs suspended for such a long period of time. He was happy when he saw Surrey come into view, and even happier to finally touch down in Harry's backyard. He wasn't the only one that felt that way it seemed: there was a mutual sigh of relief when they all dismounted. Kingsley did a few rapid squats to attempt to get blood flowing to his legs again, Elphias Doge fell to his knees and Tonks gave an almighty, whole-body stretch much like a cat. Moody cracked his neck once before declaring he would check to make sure the muggles had left, as was his assignment. His magical eye twisting around, inspecting the house and its contents through the walls, he walked to the front of the house. 

Remus felt every joint cracking and his muscles rebelling against him. Cracking his knuckles, tight from gripping his broom handle, Remus gestured the remaining guard members into a huddle. "Looks clear," he whispered. "We'll just wait for Moody to confirm before executing the plan. Everyone remember their assignments?"

Everyone nodded. Moody half-jogged, half-clomped around the opposite corner of the house from where he had disappeared. "All clear!" he whispered harshly and the rest of the group ran silently to the back door, crouched low to the ground. Kingsley led the way, and once he joined Mad-Eye he cast an impressive unlocking charm on the door. He was known for his charm work, and Remus could see why: the lock didn't even click when it opened. "He's locked in his room," Moody informed Remus in a quiet growl.

Silently, they entered the house in a tactical column. First Kingsley, then Moody, Doge, Jones, Diggle, Vance, Podmore and Tonks. Remus quietly closed the door, and then went to head upstairs to retrieve Harry. While he did that, the rest of the guard was to secure the house, give an all-clear signal to the rear guard and await a return signal.

_So far, so good,_ Remus thought. But as he made to move past Tonks there wasn't enough clearance between her and the chairs around the table. He gently placed his hand on the small of her back as he turned to squeeze by her, but it caused her to jump and knock over a dish that had been sitting on the edge of the counter.

At the sound of the crash, the entire group turned around and looked at Tonks. Remus quickly dropped his hand from her back. She flushed a deep red before she whispered, "Whoops."

"Damn clumsiest witch I've ever known. Must have been really hurting for recruits if they let you become an Auror. In my day. . ."

"Moody, that's enough!" Remus growled. "Harry's sure to have heard that. We need to move now."

Remus strode to the front of the line and they followed, shuffling behind him into the hallway. They all stopped at the bottom of the stairs when they heard a lock click open and a soft swinging sound that could only be a door opening. _Surely Harry didn't perform magic again. He wouldn't… not in the face of a ministry hearing._ Seeing Harry's silhouette at the top of the stairs with his wand at the ready, Remus reached for his wand to cast a light charm when he heard Moody growl over his shoulder, "Lower your wand, boy, before you take someone's eye out."

"Professor Moody?" Harry asked. Remus could sense the hesitation in his voice. When he saw Harry lower his wand at Moody's answer, Remus said softly, "It's all right Harry. We've come to take you away."

"P-Professor Lupin? Is that you?" Light charm forgotten, Remus smiled at his friend's son. He looked ragged and worse for the wear, skinnier even, but unharmed. Relief flooded him for a moment, and he smiled broadly.

Tonks drew him back to the task at hand. "Why are we all standing in the dark? Lumos."

Remus looked at Tonks' face as she finally saw Harry for the first time. She was grinning as her eyes raked over him before she declared, "Oooh, he looks just like I thought he would. Wotcher, Harry!"

Remus chuckled under his breath at Harry's startled reaction to the resulting chorus of comparisons that the rest of the guard gave. He was obviously slightly thrown off by their sudden appearance without warning. Harry's eyes kept traveling over the guard, taking each one in separately. Remus also noticed how awkward everyone was being—staring intently at Harry as if he would either disappear or fly off the handle at any moment. Moody kept barking absurd instructions and admonishments. Remus wondered if they would all snap out of it soon—for Harry's sake, he hoped so. He motioned Harry into the kitchen; the rest of the guard followed.

Whatever Remus had been hoping the change of venue would do—make the guard relax or make Harry more comfortable, he wasn't sure—it didn't happen. If anything, it just gave everyone in the guard more room to circle around Harry, making him uneasy.

"This is Alastor Moody, Harry," Remus began the introductions, hoping it would ease the awkwardness of the situation a bit.

"Yeah, I know," Harry responded, and Remus remembered that, technically, Harry had met Moody before. He decided to move quickly through the rest of the team.

"And this is Nymphadora" He cringed even as he said the word, but it was too late to retrieve it. He truly hadn't meant to use her first name, especially after her insistence this afternoon in the library. He braced himself for what he knew was coming.

"_Don't_ call me Nymphadora, Remus," she said with a shudder. Remus could hear a bit of curtness in her voice, lying just under the surface. "It's Tonks."

"Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to be known by her surname only," Remus supplied, hoping his extra emphasis was enough to appease her. He couldn't help but smile when he heard her mumble, "So would you if your mother named you Nymphadora."

Remus raced through the remaining introductions; he didn't want to get sidetracked and not allow Harry enough time to pack. Finally, Moody asked Harry for a glass of water to rinse his magical eye with and Remus seized the moment of silence that followed as an opportunity to give Harry a chance to leave the room. When Tonks offered to go with him, Remus smiled to himself. He could tell she was itching to see how Harry lived after all the stories she had heard from Ron and the twins.

When Tonks and Harry were finally upstairs and out of earshot, Remus wheeled around on the rest of the team and hissed, "You all have _got_ to stop treating him like a bloody celebrity. He's just a normal 15-year-old boy, and you lot are freaking him out."

When Harry returned downstairs, he seemed in a much better, more relaxed mood. So did Tonks. Remus also noted that while upstairs, Tonks had morphed again—her hair was now bright bubble-gum pink. He swallowed the comment he was aching to make about the change. Instead he helped her attach Harry's trunk to the harness on her broom, grinning back when she smiled gratefully at him.

If Remus thought the trip to Surrey was taxing, he was completely unprepared for the return trip. His body remembered the ache of the first journey and began protesting the repeat performance much earlier. That, added to the increased anxiety due to Harry's presence, made the trip almost unbearable. After several hours, ice had started to form at the corners of his eyes. He wanted to hug Tonks when she refused Moody's request for more diversionary maneuvers. He settled for helping her carry Harry's trunk into headquarters.

The rest of the night passed by in a fatigue-induced blur, certain moments more clear than others: Sirius' look of sheer joy after hugging Harry for the first time in two years, the look of pride in Dumbledore's eyes after Remus reported the successful mission at the Order meeting, the look he had shared with Tonks across the table over dessert, Harry's anxious looks around the table while he asked his questions about the Order and Voldemort.

At the end of the night, with everyone else headed to bed, Remus sat alone in the drawing room. He was physically exhausted. He was content though, just sitting on the couch and sipping tea while he flipped absent-mindedly through a large potions book. He heard a soft knocking on the open door. "Mind if I interrupt?" Tonks asked from the door.

Remus looked up to see her petite frame silhouetted in the doorway, backlit by the hallway light. As she walked towards him he noticed how adorable she looked, with her hair mussed and bright pink.

She sat down next to him, pulled her feet up and burrowed into his side. He moved his arm to the back of the couch quickly and felt himself tense instantly at the unexpected contact. She smelled nice, but he couldn't quite place the combination. As he was contemplating what it could be, she reached, took the tea from his hand and took a small sip. "Make yourself at home," he quipped.

"Thanks," she murmured. "I needed to warm up. Blast this drafty house." She shivered as if to make her point.

They sat in silence again for a while. Remus found himself wondering at her change of moods—not twenty-four hours ago she had been raging in his bedroom, throwing books at him. And now she was cuddling up to him for warmth, sharing his tea with the intimacy of lovers. _Is she always this mercurial?_ He was drawn from his reverie by her timid voice. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Remus took a moment to consider his answer. _Yes, she is. You're incredibly uncomfortable. _"Er… no. I must say it's better than having books thrown at me or being avoided."

"I said I was sorry about the book," Tonks said. Her voice was fading, taking on the lower rumbling sound that often precedes sleep. "Sorry about avoiding you too."

He looked down at her, hoping to catch a glimpse of her eyes, but was met with only the top of her head. Remus couldn't help himself. He had to say something before she drifted off to sleep and quite possibly changed her opinion of him tomorrow. "I see you changed your hair color."

"Mmm…. peaked… you … pink better…." Tonks half-said, her voice diminishing as she fell asleep tucked in safely to Remus' side. She said one final word, in a sweet whisper before she gave herself over to sleep: "_Nymph-_adora…"

Remus grinned into the otherwise empty room. After a moment, he moved his arm from the back of the couch, pulling a blanket that had been resting there along with him. He arranged the blanket around her and slipped his arm to rest on her waist as he whispered, "Nox."

* * *

_Notes to reviewers:_

**Mrs. Alicia Weasley:** I enjoyed your long review! I have a missing moment (Sirius telling Tonks) all written up… I'm just not sure if I like it enough to post it yet. It still needs some "tweaking" I think.

**Starnat, Mrs. Scribble, Redgirl44:** Thanks! Hope you like this chapter too!

**Lou. McGonagall:** Hope this has enough R/T cuteness.

**Queriusole:** Glad you liked Chap. 4 (her pinning him was a last minute addition that I almost cut, but I'm glad I kept it in) and Chap. 5.

**I luv lupin:** Thanks for such a great compliment! Thanks for letting me know that you think Tonks may have been OOC. Hope she's to your liking now.

**Kanikan:** I wish I had your eye for grammar… it is my downfall, for sure. My old high school teacher told me he loved my writing, as soon as he cleaned up the grammar and the tense switching (which I've reigned in for the most part, I like to think). I should probably think about getting a beta (although I have no idea how to go about it). I struggle with Remus, I must admit. He reminds me of my favorite movies… they keep changing on me, showing me new things every time I view them…. He's the same way. Every time I read a scene from canon with him in it, it changes a bit from the last reading. It's incredible depth… I just have a hard time grasping it all, I guess. I'll continue to try.

**LuthienGranger2004:** Glad you've liked the story so far. A little confused by your contradiction comment, though. Do you think he contradicts himself in Chapter 3 because at the beginning he's talking to Tonks about ways to get Harry from the Dursleys and then says he should stay? Well… he's human. I know I often contradict myself, or war with myself… make a decision to do something and then 10 minutes later it changes. I see it as him getting caught up in talking to Tonks, excited to talk about anything to anyone after being alone so long, and then, on further thought, decides something else. If you're referring to the end line "It's never better to be safe and unloved", that's Tonks saying that to Lupin, not the other way around. Hope that explains the apparent contradiction.


	7. Touching and Touchy

Marauder Reminders

Set during OotP, this is the untold story of Remus and Tonks: how they meet and their burgeoning friendship as the War continues to escalate around them.

Author's Note: Well, if any of you are still reading this after a 4-month hiatus… thank you. I hit major, major writer's block and couldn't deal with it. Then, one night, it came to me at 3am, breaking up my R.E.M. sleep. And a week later, JK Rowling made it official, and made my day. It's my first fanfic, so I'd really appreciate any suggestions you have to improve. I hope you enjoy! If you're interested, I've put some notes in my profile about their ages, etc. It's by no means necessary to read though some might find it interesting.

Disclaimer: I'm just playing with my friends. I don't own any of them.

* * *

Chapter 7: Touching and Touchy

She wasn't touching him.

That was the only clear thought Remus had all day. When he woke up, he had found her lying on a chair across the room, looking most uncomfortable. All day she avoided any kind of contact, even when it was unnatural not to touch, like when she passed him the jam at breakfast. She had held the jar awkwardly and half-dropped, half-passed the jar into his hands.

Remus wasn't the kind of guy who usually took notice of who was and who was not touching him, but he couldn't help but notice the change from yesterday's almost excessive amount of physical contact to the current situation. He wanted to ask her about it, but wording the question proved so difficult that he gave up the idea.

_Did I offend her somehow in my sleep?_ Remus found this new friendship with Tonks exhausting. He didn't like waking up to a new Nymphadora each day. By the time he learned how to act around her, she changed. He wished she would just be like the woman he had sat on the bench on Privet Drive with—relaxed, funny, and rather sweet. _I want to know that Nymphadora. For Order purposes, of course._

She wasn't avoiding him; they talked several times over the course of the day, with at least five feet between them whenever possible. _For Merlin's sake, Remus. Get over it!_ Remus sighed heavily as he took a sip of tea before he turned the page of the book he was attempting to read between thoughts of Nymphadora and touching.

"Care for some company?"

Looking up, he saw her standing in the doorway to the library again, just like the previous night. "Sure. Have a seat," he said, feeling his heart rate pick up slightly. He considered moving his arm to the back of the couch to give her room at his side, but she made the decision irrelevant when she sat down on the other end of the couch with her back against the arm. She quickly pulled her feet up and beneath her, in an almost defensive position. She tilted her head to the left slightly when Remus sighed.

"How do you think Harry is adjusting?" Tonks asked. "Do you think he's happy to be here?"

Remus took a while to consider his answer. "I know he's glad to be away from the Dursley's, not that anyone can blame him."

Tonks fell silent for a moment, apparently discouraged by his answer. "Do you think he… er… well, _likes_ the Order?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know… does he like the _Order_?"

"Nymphadora, he's not _in_ the Order."

"Right, but does he _like _it?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not in the mood to answer cryptic questions tonight. What are you trying to ask?" Remus instantly felt bad for snapping at her, especially when he saw her eyes snap down to the couch and her fingers begin playing with the fringe on a throw pillow. She didn't answer. Remus sighed again. This time setting his book aside and turning on the couch to face her, he said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's ok, Remus. It was a stupid question," Tonks said, still staring at her fingers playing with the fringe. Remus decided to wait for her to begin again.

"I was nervous," she said after a few minutes.

"What? Why?"

Tonks drew a deep breath and repeated quickly, "I was nervous. About meeting Harry. I was worried he wouldn't like me and then you and Sirius… you wouldn't…" Tonks was flushed as she let the sentence hang in the air unfinished.

"We what? Wouldn't like you either?"

"Well, yeah," Tonks said sheepishly. She looked up at Remus briefly, and shrugged her shoulders before looking back down at her hands.

"Are you kidding?" he asked, but Remus could tell by the tense way she was holding herself that she was genuinely worried about his answer. His mind quickly flashed back to when he had found her in the library before the mission, pacing and wringing her hands, drilling him on how he was to introduce her to Harry.

"What exactly made you worried? They way Ginny and Hermione adore you? Or the way the twins follow you around? I can see why you'd be worried about impressing the Hogwarts set. I mean you're basically another Snape, all sneers and barbs and detentions, aren't you?" Lupin couldn't contain a smile.

She looked up, eyes twinkling. "Are you being _sarcastic_, Mr. Lupin?"

"Why yes, Miss Tonks, I believe I am."

"AHA! I _knew_ you'd use my proper name someday," Tonks cackled madly as she punched a fist in the air victoriously.

"I've always used your proper name, _Nymph_adora," Remus said as he reached for her fist and brought it back to her side slowly. He couldn't remember when he had moved this close to her; close enough to see that she had made her eyes a perfect copper color, to complement the short black hair she chose for today.

"Yes… well," Tonks stammered, "y-you still called me Tonks."

"_Miss_ Tonks, Nymphadora. And I was tricked. It won't happen again."

_We're touching._ _I am touching her. _Remus, after thinking about not touching her all day found himself reluctant to remove his hand from her wrist, but knew he was just a moment shy of making things awkward. He moved back to the other arm of the couch, mimicking her posture: feet up, facing her completely, hands lying in his lap. She dropped her gaze to her wrist briefly, making Remus wonder if he had crossed a line somehow.

"You must not think much of Sirius and me if you think we'd stop being your friend based solely on the opinion of Harry," Remus said finally as he withdrew his hand.

"Well, I just wondered…because… well… never mind. It doesn't really matter. I shouldn't have worried." She kept her eyes down. She pushed her hands down onto the couch briefly and untucked her legs from underneath her, as if preparing to leave the room.

"I was scared to meet Harry, so I guess nervous is a step above that," Remus blurted out suddenly. Embarrassed by his sudden admission, Remus dropped his eyes and his voice became a whisper, "I'm still a little scared to be around him. I've never told anyone that."

The teasing air that just a minute or two ago dominated the room had now evaporated completely. Tonks quietly resumed her position, feet underneath her, facing Remus. He could tell he was going to have to explain himself; he took a deep breath, looked at his hands and plunged ahead.

"Did you know the biggest fight the Marauders ever had was about Harry?" Remus asked, chancing a quick glance up at Nymphadora. She was staring intently at him; when they made eye contact she shook her head silently and Remus continued.

"We each wanted to be his godfather. James told us to figure it out between ourselves, so Sirius decided we'd draw names out of a hat. He rigged it of course: charmed all the pieces of paper to have his name no matter what anyone wrote on it. We had a huge row and in the heat of the moment he said a werewolf had no right to raise a kid, ever. I didn't talk to him for a week. Finally, James brought him over to my flat and he apologized, sincerely. James then told us that he and Lily talked with Dumbledore, who recommended that Sirius be Harry's godfather, seeing as my lycanthropy could cause substantial legal issues. It was the first time in our friendship that being… what I am… made a difference. Later, I convinced myself it made a difference again when they didn't ask me to be their secret keeper. I didn't know that they had been hearing rumors that I had turned."

After several minutes of silence, several minutes that Remus spent inspecting the loose button on his cuff, Tonks finally spoke. "Er… Remus? Would you mind. . . I mean… would you mind if I asked where you were on the night James and Lily died?"

"Peter had convinced me to take that night off—to switch guard shifts over the their hiding place with him. 'You're still recovering from the transformation, Moony. Take a break,' he said to me. I woke up to James, Lily and Peter's deaths at the hands of Sirius. I convinced myself that if only I hadn't been lazy that night, if only I'd done my duty, it never would have happened. Surely Sirius would have turned back if he'd seen _me_ instead of Peter." Remus couldn't remember the last time he had talked so much, shared so much. He just wanted to get through the rest of the story quickly and leave, to get as much distance between him and Nymphadora as was humanly possible.

"Why didn't you take Harry? If you were in the running to be his godfather, why didn't you just… you know, keep him?"

"Dumbledore took care of it all that night, while I was asleep. Harry was sent to the Dursley's because of the magical protection that existed in the blood of Lily's remaining family. Not that I would have been much good for him, anyway. I didn't speak to anyone for six months. Not Dumbledore, not anyone from the Order, not my parents. Dumbledore sent me a letter explaining what was being done with Harry, and asking me not to contact him before he was 11. I complied, knowing James and Lily would have been outraged. Sirius would never have obeyed that order from Dumbledore. Never in a million years," Remus looked up again. Tonks sat perfectly still, a look of mingled understanding and sympathy on her face. It made Remus' stomach turn. The last thing he wanted was sympathy for being a coward.

"But that doesn't explain why you'd be scared of Harry," she said softly.

"Harry has every right to hate me. I was his father's last remaining available friend. I held several keys to his past and simply didn't have the courage to tell him. I convinced myself that once he was at Hogwarts, I would write him a letter explaining who I was and offer to talk about his parents. I never did. When Dumbledore offered me the teaching position, I swore to tell him then. But when I saw him I just couldn't do it, not even when I knew he needed it, not even when he presented me with countless opportunities. When the truth was finally forced out into the open, Harry was so gracious. He just accepted us, both Sirius and I, no questions asked. I've dealt with everything else—-I know I couldn't have changed what happened that night, that Peter betrayed us all and that's not my fault. I know that James and Lily loved me, even if they let some doubt about me creep in; I know that I have something to offer the war effort. I know I have a purpose for being in Harry's life now, in whatever capacity you could call it. I guess what I'm scared of is that someday he'll ask me where the hell I'd been the first 13 years of his life and I'll not have an answer, simply because there is none beyond my own failing." Remus sighed, glad the truth was out, glad the story was at its end. They sat in silence again.

Finally, Remus could take it no longer. "Makes being nervous about him liking you seem like a walk in the park, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Tonks said, laughing. "Yeah, it sure does."

Her laugh, awkward and melodic and full, made Remus smile. And then it made him chuckle.

"What a right pair of idiots we make, Remus. Fighting a war against the darkest wizard of all time and we're scared a 15 year old boy might not like us," Tonks said, looking Remus in the eyes.

And there it was. In two sentences, Tonks had managed to take his guilt and fear and make it a thing of the past. Remus' heart lightened, his shoulders relaxed, and all thoughts of running from her presence left his mind.

* * *

"Tea?"

Remus started a bit at the question, not expecting Sirius to be up at such an early hour.

"Would love some. What are you doing up?"

"Not quite used to sleeping on a mattress. My body still wakes up from time to time, expecting to be uncomfortable. Just couldn't get back to sleep," Sirius replied as he poured hot water into two teacups. "You?"

"Got an early morning assignment—-thought I'd grab some breakfast and head out," Remus answered as he took a sip of tea.

While he was still facing away from Remus, Sirius said slyly, "Saw you and Nymphie last night."

Remus choked silently on his tea, and quickly moved to wipe the reflex tears from his eyes before Sirius turned around. Luckily, Sirius continued with his back turned, "You two looked awful cozy."

"We did not. We were on opposite sides of the couch!" Remus responded, indignant.

"And what were you two discussing, looking so cozy on the couch?"

"You're a prat, you know that, right?"

"'Course I do. Lily told me enough times for it to sink in," Sirius answered cheekily. His voice changed a bit and he asked again, "What were you two discussing?"

"Harry."

"Harry?"

"Yeah, Harry. She thought we wouldn't like her if Harry didn't."

"What did you tell her?"

"Oh, just that it's a good thing Harry did like her because otherwise…"

"Sure you did. You allayed all her fears, didn't you?"

"Wouldn't you?"

Sirius sat for a minute, pondering the question. "Eventually."

"Prat."

"Who's a prat?"

Remus choked on his tea, again, at the sound of Nymphadora's voice.

"Me, of course, dear cousin of mine. I was just telling Moony here that it's a good thing Harry likes you, or else we might have had to rethink your membership in the Order."

"Thanks for that, you prat," Tonks said, smiling at Sirius and then casting a soft look at Remus.

"What are you doing up so early, Nymphadora?" Remus asked.

She sighed. "You're trying to wear me down in the hopes that I'll let you call me that name, aren't you?"

"You'll break eventually. Or go mad. Your choice."

"Cheeky bastard in the morning, aren't we? I thought I'd head into work a little early, see if I can't get the inside track on who will be hearing Harry's case before I get an assignment."

"Morning, all!" Molly Weasely swept into the room and immediately set about to preparing breakfast. "You're all up so early! Well, I guess I'm getting a bit of a late start."

"Don't worry about cooking for me, Molly," Remus said, as he stood to leave. "I'm just heading out on an assignment. I should be back for dinner."

"You stay right where you are, Remus. You're entirely too thin to be skipping any meals. I'll have a proper breakfast ready in minute and _then_ you can go on your assignment."

Remus walked to the counter and put his cup in the sink, prepared to gently insist on leaving. Molly gave him a look that brooked no argument. He sighed, and turned to face the rest of the group while he waited for breakfast. Tonks giggled. Remus shot her a look; she snorted softly, in an attempt to stem the oncoming laughter. She blushed furiously, making Remus laugh.

"George, I'm telling you, a little more fluxweed and those pastilles should be perfect!" Fred stopped abruptly in the doorway at the sight of so many people in the kitchen so early. "Good morning, Tonks."

"Morning to you too, Fred," Sirius said pointedly.

"Hmm? Anyway, Tonks… remember those Chameleon Chews you agreed to model for? We're going to need a lock of your hair," Fred continued as if Sirius hadn't said anything.

"I never agreed to model for them, Fred."

"You didn't? I could have sworn…" Fred sat down in the seat next to Nymphadora. Remus crossed the room and sat in the other seat beside her. Sirius coughed loudly; Fred, Tonks, and Remus looked up at him.

"Just a tickle in my throat," he said as he took a sip of tea. Only Remus noticed the smile he was trying to hide behind his teacup.

True to her word, a few minutes later Molly was loading the table with a huge breakfast. Remus ate quickly and silently. Fred spent half of the meal attempting to goad Tonks into consenting to the Chameleon Chew; Tonks turned him down repeatedly and politely. He spent the other half asking her to morph into a hundred different combinations. She denied these requests too. _Can't even get a word in edgewise,_ Remus noted. _And what's wrong with the green eye/green hair combination she chose this morning, anyway?_

In a bit of a huff, Remus stood from the table without a word and put his dishes in the sink. "I'm off." Without waiting for a response, he left the room. As the door was swinging shut, he swore he heard Nymphadora's voice say quietly, "See you tonight."

He had his hand on the front door's doorknob when Sirius' voice stopped him. "You're jealous."

"Excuse me?"

"Of Fred Weasley. You're jealous."

"You're ridiculous."

"Am I?"

Remus was silent. He wasn't jealous. It was early in the morning and he had a long day ahead of him, and he was getting a later start than he wanted to. He was most certainly not jealous.

"Look, Remus. I know you don't have much experience with this, so I'm just trying to help you identify the new feelings. What you're feeling right now? It's called jealousy. That's why you didn't leave this morning when you wanted—not because of Molly's insistence, but because Fred sat down next to her."

"I barely know her. We're just friends, Sirius. And barely that, now that I think about it. It is possible for a man and a woman to just be friends, you know."

"I know that. But I don't think _you_ know that it's ok for a werewolf to fancy someone, and that's a much harder lesson to learn."

"Don't be a prat."

"Don't you be one either," Sirius replied. "See you tonight."

* * *

Review Responses:

Starnat: Well, Remus does think her name is adorable… or at least I think Remus thinks that. :)

Sparkle: Thanks for such a kind review! I hope you enjoy this (very, very late) chapter.

delumacar: Thank you!

Radiant: Thanks for complimenting the dialogue—I try to make it "flow"… keeping in mind thought process and reality, but I'm always nervous when I post a new chapter that I haven't done a very good job.

claudiastar: Thank you!

Loz: No, I'm not psychic, but I almost **died** when I saw Hepzibah in canon… I think I actually squealed. And when they became official canon… yeah. That was a great moment. Hope you like this chapter too.

SporkWoman: I'm glad you liked the Liverpool wizard. I wasn't sure how that was going to fly—if the absurdity of it would come across. Sorry for the wait on this chapter; I hope you find it up to par.

And to all my readers: I promise (PROMISE) that it will not be another 4 months before I update.


	8. Werewolves and Ghouls

Marauder Reminders

Set during OotP, this is the untold story of Remus and Tonks: how they meet and their burgeoning friendship as the War continues to escalate around them.

Author's Note: Well, if any of you are still reading this after _another_ LOOOONNNGG hiatus… thank you. This time did have a purpose though—I went back and re-read both book 5 and 6, wanting to shore up my back story and both Remus' and Tonk's missions in order to give the story some more depth. And then, after that, I just had a heck of a time trying to write it. I finally figured out what was wrong with the chapter (I was rushing the story, excited to have a place to go) and I think I got it worked out now. Thank you, thank you, thank you to those who are still reading, and especially to those who emailed me to ask if I was still writing… your encouragement meant more to me that I could ever convey.

It's my first fanfic, so I'd really appreciate any suggestions you have to improve. I hope you enjoy! If you're interested, I've put some notes in my profile about their ages, etc. It's by no means necessary to read though some might find it interesting.

Disclaimer: I'm just playing with my friends. I don't own any of them.

* * *

Chapter Eight: Werewolves and Ghouls

Remus knew the difference between a bite designed to kill and a bite designed to infect. Werewolves being literally creatures of instinct as they were, bites to kill were hardly "bites". They usually included huge, gaping wounds; large pieces of skin and muscles simply missing, torn completely away from the bone. The victim tends to look as if something attempted to rip it limb from limb. Bites to infect, on the other hand, were precisely placed, usually on the trapezius muscle attaching the shoulder to the neck where the muscle is dense but compact enough to ensure a solid grip. If the victim was caught running away, an infection bite was usually found on the hamstring for similar reasons.

The deceased six-year-old before him was troubling. There was no sign of passion in the wound, no excessive tearing; just a very clean puncture low on the girl's slender neck. It was an infection bite gone wrong. Placed a little too high and a little too far to the left, it had accidentally caught her jugular artery. She had died quickly.

Remus said a quick "thank you" to whatever higher power had decided to save this sweet blond child from the horrors of lycanthropy, recovered her with the blue sheet and left the mortuary at St. Mungo's.

_It's just one bite. There's no need to panic._ He went to see Dumbledore immediately.

"Troubling, indeed. Troubling, indeed," the Headmaster said as he wound a gear attached to a silver device on his desk that Remus had never seen before. Remus was silent.

"What do you think, Remus?"

_Is this one person deciding to infect others? It's happened before. Or is this something bigger, somehow attached to Voldemort's grand scheme? Have the werewolves banded together? Have they joined Voldemort? _"I'm not quite prepared to make a definitive statement," he finally answered.

"Yes, quite understandable. But what do you think?"

"I know for sure that what I saw today was an intentional bite. Whether or not it is an isolated incident that we should allow the Ministry of Magic to handle, or part of a larger plan of Voldemort's, it's too early to say."

"Get in touch with your werewolf contacts around the country—see what they've heard. See if there have been any rumblings, would you please, Remus," Albus said quietly. It was said so nonchalantly that Remus was almost sure he misheard.

_Former contacts? Albus makes it sound as though we're all old school mates. There is no "old gang" to round up here… everyone I've ever known with lycanthropy has attempted to disassociate themselves from it, hoping people would forget long enough to give them a job. Including me._ "I'll do what I can, Albus."

* * *

"It was brill, Professor Lupin! You should have seen it!" Ginny Weasley latched onto Remus' arm as soon as he walked into the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place, enthusiastically telling him over and over again how brilliant it was.

Apparently, whatever it was, it was amazing. Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Fred _and_ George were all falling over themselves to tell him so, and the six of them never agreed on the brilliance of anything, as far as Remus knew. And apparently they had already told Sirius, Arthur and Molly how brilliant it had been as they all rolled their eyes at the conversation.

"So unbelievable! I don't know how she managed…" Hermione started to tell him breathlessly. So breathlessly in fact that she couldn't continue. Ron picked up the slack.

"Tonks—she was incredible! You missed the best day of cleaning so far!"

_Cleaning? Surely not. Surely these six teenagers aren't losing their minds over cleaning._ Confused, Remus looked to Sirius for help.

"Alright guys, give him a minute to take off his jacket. Maybe a reenactment is in order?" Sirius could barely contain the barking laugh that Remus could tell was threatening to surface.

"Absolutely! Professor, grab some tea—Mum, you just made tea, right? Grab some tea and meet us up in the drawing room in five," George said, a wicked gleam already in his eyes as he turned to the others and waved them upstairs.

"What in the world— " Remus began, but Sirius cut him off.

"Don't even bother. There is no way in hell we're stealing their thunder and telling you first."

Molly shoved a mug of tea in his hand and gestured upstairs. "I've heard the story enough—I have to get supper ready. You three scoot. Go, enjoy." She kissed Arthur on the cheek as they left the room.

Once Remus was seated comfortably on the couch with Arthur and Sirius, Ron stood forward and cleared his throat. Known for being a great storyteller, he obviously had been tasked with narrating.

"In order to ensure absolute historical accuracy in the portrayal of the characters in today's story, the cast is as follows," Ron started rather pompously. "The role of Harry Potter will be played by Miss Ginny Weasley," at this, Ginny stepped forward to take a bow. The three adult men on the couch applauded politely.

"The role of Hermione Granger will be played by Mr. Fred Weasley," Hermione frowned slightly as Fred stepped forward and pretended to smooth down his hair. There was more applause from the couch.

"The role of Nymphadora Tonks will be played by Mr. Harry Potter," Ron stated. Remus cringed slightly at the use of her first name. She would not be happy about that at all.

"The role of Ron Weasley, after much deliberation and with, I must say, more than a little protest by the _actual_ Ron Weas—"

"Ron! Just announce it already!" Hermione ordered and rolled her eyes.

"Fine! The role of Ron Weasley will be played by George Weasley," Ron said quickly, obviously displeased. George stepped forward and bowed grandly.

"The part of Ginny Weasley will be played by Miss Hermione Granger," Ron said. Hermione stepped forward quickly and gave a very slight curtsey as she blushed profusely.

"And last but not least, in a stunning display of acting talent," Ron started. Hermione and Ginny groaned. "Playing not one, not two, but three, _yes, three_, distinct parts," he continued.

"For the LOVE, Ron. We get it. You think you're great," Fred said.

Ignoring Fred completely Ron finished, "Playing the parts of Fred Weasley, George Weasley and the Narrator will be the one and only… Ron Weasley." He bowed with a large sweep of his arm.

Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George walked out of the door to the drawing room and into the hall as Ron started the story in a low, serious voice. "This is a story of intrigue, of daring, of shocking amounts of skill. Prepare yourselves to be amazed. This, gentlemen, is The Story of the Ghoul."

Ginny reentered the room, carrying a small chair. She said nothing as she set it down and then sank into it with a huff. Crossing her arms over her chest and slouching down, she huffed again. George walked in. "Mum's mental. She wants us to clean the bathroom. The _bathroom_, Harry. And you're a guest and everything!"

Ginny huffed again, louder. Harry, in the hallway, groaned. Ginny smirked for a second, breaking character, before she sighed loudly. "Why didn't you clean the bathroom with Hermione while you left me alone at the Dursley's?"

Sirius laughed, loudly. Ginny smiled wickedly.

"Hey guys! I was reading today that house elves used to be a free people in their own right. They were captured and put into slavery back in the eighth century… what?" Fred had a pitch-perfect impression of Hermione, one that obviously had been practiced for much longer than the five minutes before the story started.

Ginny sighed again. George threw his hands in the air in a pretty solid impression of Ron before saying, "Women! You're all mental!"

"Is this because your mum wants you to clean the bathroom, Ron? I know a really good charm for that, you know. It's too bad we're underage," Fred continued in his Hermione voice.

"Let's just get this over with so I can go back to sulking," Ginny said as she stood up.

Ron joined the group, first throwing a death glare at George before beginning. "Hey, did you see me apparate in here? It's so great being of age. What's wrong with you lot?"

"Mum wants us to clean the bathroom," George answered.

"Did you hear that?" Fred asked. "It's the doorbell. Did you know doorbells were invented in 1831 by…"

"No one cares, Hermione," George replied while giving Fred a lovesick, longing look.

At that Hermione entered the room, flushed and flustered. With no attempt at mimicking Ginny at all she said, "Tonks just arrived."

Ron began jumping up and down, obviously attempting to portray Fred. "Tonks? Tonks just arrived? Oh, what will I do? Do I look ok? Is my hair a mess? George! George! Is my hair a mess?" Ron stopped jumping, moved two steps to the right, looked at where he previously been standing, and said in a slightly lower voice, "Your hair? Looks fine to me." Two steps back to the left and jumping again, "You sure? You sure?" Two steps right, no jumping, and in the lower voice again, "It's fine, imbecile."

Fred looked livid. Sirius was clutching his side and laughing while Arthur was turning red from the exertion of trying to hold in a chuckle.

Ron ran into the hallway, grabbed Harry by the arm and hauled him into the room by his arm. Harry was laughing.

"Tonks! So good to see you! My do you look nice today—good enough to eat, I daresay…" Ron said as he wagged his eyebrows suggestively at Harry.

Remus squirmed in his seat a bit.

Harry ripped his arm from Ron's grasp and rubbed it before saying, "What are you kids up to today?"

George said glumly, "Mum's making us clean the bathroom."

Fred reached over and touched George's arm, "Oh really, Ron. It's not that bad, at least we'll be together."

George fainted and it was Ron's turn to be livid. Harry and Ginny shared a look and started to laugh uncontrollably before Harry recovered and said, "Is Remus around today?"

Remus felt his heart clench for a moment. She was ok, right? She hadn't needed him, had she?

Ron, obviously "Fred" again, answered. "Oh, old Professor Lupin? He's out doing his werewolf stuff. What can I help you with?" Ron wagged his eyebrows as he spoke, leering at Harry.

_Old Professor Lupin. Doing his werewolf stuff. If only they knew how right they were._

But before Remus could dwell any longer, the story went into full swing.

Harry said, "Well, if he's not around, why don't I take care of that bathroom with a cleaning charm and then we can find something else to occupy our time? Anyone up for Gobstones?"

Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione all began talking at once. After a moment, George spoke over the group, "We've been playing Gobstones all summer. Let's play something more interesting."

Ginny broke in, "I bet everyone had a grand old time playing Gobstones while I was stuck at the Dursley's, without ANY NEWS AT ALL! BEING ATTACKED BY DEMENTORS!"

Harry groaned again before saying, "Harry, I have half a mind to make you clean that bathroom alone, without magic, for an outburst like that."

Ginny stood to her full height, crossed her arms in front of her and said defiantly, "Fine by me."

Harry arched an eyebrow and said, "Here's your supplies," as he did a complicated wand movement. Remus supposed he was "conjuring" cleaning supplies. "Off you go."

Ginny marched out of the room.

Ron stood forward, obviously playing the part of Narrator once more. "And so, Harry was sent to clean the fourth floor bathroom, alone. Not two minutes passed before…"

"AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Ginny yelled from the hallway.

Hermione, Harry, Fred and George all looked at each other, panicked, before running out of the room as well. Ron stayed and picked up the narration. "At hearing Harry's yell, Tonks led the group—sprinting up the stairs at lightning speed. She's an Auror, you know. When she got to the bathroom, she saw Harry on the floor, fighting off a ghoul."

Ginny walked quietly back into the room, alone, and lay on the ground while Ron spoke. When he finished, she picked up the yell, "AAAAARRRGGGHHH! Ger'off me! Ger'off me!" and thrashed about, wrestling the imaginary ghoul.

At some point during Ron's recitation, the door to the drawing room had been shut. Harry kicked through, followed closely by the others.

Fred screamed loudly, and hung onto George. Harry brandished his wand and yelled, "Harry! Roll to your right!"

Ginny did so, still thrashing about. Harry pretended to throw a curse out, "Dissocio!" Ginny got up, chest heaving from the exertion, but obviously now separated from the ghoul.

"Get behind me!" Harry called to Ginny, who obeyed immediately. She stood with the others, where Fred immediately started fussing over her in a very Hermione-like manner.

It was at this point that Ron started the narration once again. The others all froze in their place, waiting for him to continue the story. "And then, being the brave and skilled Auror that she is, she cast a shield spell on the door, effectively locking herself inside the bathroom with the murderous ghoul. One of them wasn't going to leave alive."

Harry silently waved his wand at the door, simulating the shield charm, as the other actors silently mimicked yelling and banging on the shield.

"They stalked around each other in a circle, each waiting for the other to attack first. In a moment of part foolish daring and part brilliant strategy, Tonks leapt over the murderous ghoul, onto the edge of the bathtub."

Harry leapt over the chair left in the room from Act One of the story, and jumped onto the coffee table.

"He, being unusually quick for a ghoul, swung his arm around and nearly connected with her knees. Tonks, displaying an as-yet-unknown amount of grace, jumped just in time, and on the way up she landed a viscous kick to the ghoul's head."

Harry imitated Tonks as best he could, especially without a real ghoul to contend with.

"The ghoul was thrown back against the sink from the force of her kick, allowing Tonks enough time to brandish her wand again…"

"Atonare!" Harry yelled and made a thrusting movement with his wand.

"But alas, the ghoul was able to dodge the curse, which broke the mirror behind him. The ghoul leapt towards Tonks who, in a show of stunning courage, didn't even flinch as she threw another curse from her perch on the edge of the bathtub…"

Harry stood tall on the coffee table, and with almost a regal flick of his wand, called out, "Arumpere!"

Despite themselves, all three of the grown men on the couch let out a simultaneous gasp.

Ron nodded and continued, "Yes, a severing charm. Severed his head clean off."

Ginny, Hermione, Fred and George cheered loudly. Harry waved his wand at the door as if to remove the pretend shield charm on the door. The four of them surrounded Harry, still cheering and talking loudly. Ron cleared his throat loudly, obviously trying to get them to be quiet so he could finish the story.

"And that, dear friends, is the story of how Nymphadora Tonks conquered the murderous ghoul of the fourth floor bathroom."

* * *

"Good story, wasn't it?" Sirius asked from the doorway to Remus' room later that night.

"I'd heard before that Ron was an excellent storyteller, and he sure proved it today," Remus replied with a smirk.

"What's that you're working on?" Sirius asked as he came to sit on Remus' bed, across the room from where Remus was sitting at his desk.

Remus looked at the door—the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione had all gone to bed hours ago. He wondered for a second about the possibility of an Extendable Ear outside of his door, but figured the twins found him too boring to be worth eavesdropping on in the middle of the night. "I'm compiling a list of every werewolf I've ever known."

"Why? Starting an army?"

Remus snapped his head up to give Sirius a scathing look. "What's that supposed to mean, exactly?"

"What?" Sirius asked, confused.

"Why exactly would I want to start an army?"

"It was a joke, Remus. Don't get your knickers in a twist."

"It's not funny."

"You need to lighten up. Obviously I know you're not planning on overthrowing the government, well, maybe if Fudge continues being an idiot… but you're not joining Voldemort or anything."

"You didn't think so highly of me once," Remus replied, turning back to his list.

"Thanks for throwing _that_ in my face, fifteen years later. We've been over this."

"Yes we have, and yet it's about to come back to life, isn't it?" Remus said miserably, looking down at the parchment.

"Remus, what in the name of bloody Merlin are you talking about?"

Remus was quiet and stared at the wall above the desk. He listened to Sirius shift around on the bed, listened to his breathing, tried to gather his thoughts. There was a time when Sirius would have left the room by now, too impatient to wait for an answer. Not now, though. Twelve years in Azkaban made waiting ten minutes for a friend to speak seem like a blink of an eye.

"I saw a little girl today, killed by a werewolf."

Remus knew he didn't need to say much else. He knew Sirius would know that seeing that was enough to put Lupin in a bad mood for weeks. He continued anyway.

"I don't think it was an accident. Whoever bit her wanted her to be infected. They wanted her to live. Dumbledore wants me to talk to some werewolves and see if there has been any underground discussion, any dissatisfaction with the Ministry. Hence the list."

"What kind of talk do you think is happening?" Sirius asked quietly.

"I don't know of any werewolves that keep relationships with each other. All of my acquaintances have stated very plainly that they would rather not be around other werewolves. I'm not sure that any 'talk" has happened at all."

Sirius was quiet for a long moment. "Didn't you meet one back when you were testing the Wolfsbane Potion? I thought you mentioned meeting one."

Remus sighed. "You're right, I did… Clutterbuck. That was his last name. I think he was from Gloucestershire." He wrote down the name under the others on his list. He now had five.

"And wasn't there one man who protested those new werewolf restrictions in a letter to the editor in the Daily Prophet? Galdus."

"Reuben Galdus. I don't know him personally, though."

"Worth a shot, isn't it?"

"Yes, I suppose it is."

And it was. It was worth a shot; Remus knew that. But he also knew that this entire mission meant delving back into a part of his life that he had let sleep for a long time. He wasn't quite sure he was ready for all it would entail.

Six names. Six names of men who shared his horror; six men who would have no desire whatsoever to speak with him. But he had to try.


	9. The All Nighter

Marauder Reminders 9

Set during OotP, this is the untold story of Remus and Tonks: how they meet and their burgeoning friendship as the War continues to escalate around them.

Author's Note: I don't even begin to assume that people are still interested in this story, but inspiration hit, finally, and I had to write. If any of you are wondering about the length of my absence, I updated my profile with some reasons.

Disclaimer: I'm just playing with my friends. I don't own any of them.

* * *

Chapter Nine: The All Nighter

_Oh. Holy. Hell._

As far as he could tell, Remus had injured every part of his body. His arm hurt. His cheek hurt. He was vaguely aware of a throbbing sort of ache in his right thigh. Muscles that normally didn't hurt even after a particularly brutal transformation were protesting. Adamantly.

He heard the kids surrounding him, all trying mightily to keep from laughing. None were successful though, and soon the whole room was full of their snickering. Finally, Harry managed to say, "Err… Professor Lupin? You all right?"

"Fine, Harry," Remus answered as he sat up.

"Well, we're just going to go tell Mrs. Weasley that we fixed the clock," Hermione said, trying bravely to stifle her giggles.

After the group left the room, Remus laid back down. He found himself strangely glad that at the very least, the twins hadn't witnessed the scene. They had spent the afternoon in their room, experimenting. Ron had almost told him with what, but Harry stood on his foot to quiet him. He heard Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione burst into laughter just outside of the door. _Well, there'll be no heroic retelling of this adventure, that's for sure. That's what I get for being a proud berk._

Maybe it was hearing the excitement from the kids about Nymphadora's heroics. Or Sirius' taunts of losing his Marauder status for wanting to wait for Moody before attempting the mission. Whichever it was, it had thoroughly convinced him to take on the grandfather clock that had started spitting bits of its machinery at passersby, which lead him here: flat on his back, bruised, and aching. At the very least, he had conquered the clock, but quite possibly at the expense of his dignity.

And then he heard it—a very distinct shuffling, a smothered giggle. _Oh, dear Merlin, please no. _

"Wotcher, Remus."

"Nymphadora," he responded calmly, eyes shut in mortification. A fairly large knot was throbbing at his temple.

"How many times are we going to have this discussion?"

"So I'm not even allowed to use your first name when I'm laid out on the floor after having been attacked by a vicious piece of timekeeping?"

"Not even then," Tonks responded. Remus was pleased to hear a slight note of amusement still in her voice.

"You know, I remembered another name that's worse than yours," Remus said. "A girl I used to tutor in Estonia was named Aita Leida Kuusepuu Pungas."

"That's not so bad," Tonks began. "Does it mean anything?"

"Now that you mention it, it does," Remus began, attempting to hold in his grin. He was hoping she would ask that exact question. "In Estonian, it means 'Help Find a Christmas Tree.'"

"Stop lying," Tonks said as she tried to stifle a laugh.

"Would I do such a thing? You can ask Dumbledore—he is the one who referred me to the family."

They laughed for several moments before they fell into silence. "So, what exactly did you see of the debacle?" Remus asked, nodding towards the grandfather clock as he sat upright slowly, rolling his shoulders in an attempt to loosen his muscles. He scooted back slightly, resting his back against the settee.

"Not much, just the part where you dove behind the settee while throwing a quite impressive Conquiescere. Might have worked too, if you'd used the right wand motion."

Remus felt the blush begin at his feet and race across his body. She had just been polite; he had thrown that charm quite early in the attack. "Well, that's me, officially outed as a poor wandsman. And to show such poor technique in front of the children, too. Shameful."

Tonks seated herself beside him on the floor, bringing with her an armload of papers Lupin had only just noticed. She smiled at him. "It's not so bad—just left off the down flick on the third syllable. Not unusual in an attack situation."

"Did you need to see me last week?" Remus asked, changing the subject abruptly.

"Er…" It was Tonks' turn to blush to the roots of her hair. "Why?"

"The kids were retelling the story of your conquest, mentioned that you had asked if I was about," Remus replied. "Wanted to make sure you hadn't needed anything."

"The kids told you?" Tonks smiled faintly, "Conquest might be a bit much."

"Very lively version, actually. Seems you've won them over well and proper. Definitely nothing to worry about in the affection department now—they were falling over themselves trying to tell me all about it as soon as I walked in the door."

Looking at her intently, his recent shame forgotten, Remus noticed her blush deepen slightly at his words. She was pleased. Quietly, she said, "I hadn't needed anything."

Of all things he had expected, it had not been pleasure at those words. Relief. Confusion, even. He tucked that unanticipated sense of satisfaction away to think about later.

When he didn't respond, Tonks shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I was just coming in here to try and wade through this paperwork. Thank you for making it safe from gear-throwing grandfather clocks."

"My duty and my honor, Miss Tonks," Remus answered as he stood to leave, offering his hand to help her up. "Truly, the least I could do for the Auror who saved my late best friend's son from a murderous ghoul."

As she stood, Tonks kicked over the massive stack of parchments she had brought with her, spilling them all around. How she had managed to spread them so far with just a slight kick of her foot, he would never know. He was focusing his collection effort around the hearth while she crouched down to retrieve the set that slipped under the settee. As he worked he asked, "What's all this?"

"Nothing important; just some paperwork I didn't have time to finish in the office. I've got an Order shift in two hours—thought I'd bring it here so I could attempt to eat and write at the same time before Dung gets here."

"Seems like a lot of paper," Remus noted.

"I'm a little behind," Tonks replied, in a voice that clearly indicated she didn't want to talk about it.

"Well, I'll just leave you to it, then."

* * *

Remus gingerly made his way into the kitchen (how had he managed to pull his hamstring?) where he walked into the middle of a shushed discussion between Kingsley and Moody.

"He's running her into the ground," Kingsley said.

"Can't say I blame him, to be honest. She can be downright daft at times, all that bloody outrageous morphing instead of paying attention to the assignment."

"Look, Moody. Tonks is a damn fine Auror…"

"No, she could be a damn fine Auror, if she didn't get so caught up in trivial things. Can't say Scrimgeour is doing anything I wouldn't recommend myself. Girl needs someone to show her this ain't a game we're playing," Moody growled.

"She doesn't think this is a game! We haven't had a strong class of Aurors in years, Moody—not since Monroe and Terrapin. And that was, what? Five years ago?"

"Six," Mad-Eye muttered.

"Six. Six years. And we finally get _one_ solid rookie and he's doing everything in his power to burn her out! Double shifts, and he's been bandying her about on her schedule, too—one week she works days, the next nights, hell, she's even had to work split shifts. No one's done that since before the first war. And to top it all off, he won't let her delegate any paperwork to the AA's…"

"A bloody waste of money anyway, if you ask me…"

"We've had this debate before, Alastor. Whatever your thoughts on Auror Assistants, it still doesn't make sense that he'll let every other Auror use them, but not Tonks. It's discriminatory," Kingsley looked livid.

"There's nothing to be done about it. She'll just have to take it."

"I'm asking you to get off her bleeding back for once," Kingsley bit out.

"What's the point of her being in the Order if she's not capable of a shift or two? We're not a damn social club."

"You have her down for eight shifts! That's twice anyone else!" Kingsley pointed down to the shift assignments Moody had spread out in front of him on the table as he spoke.

"Fine," Moody spit out. "I suppose _you're_ volunteering."

Kingsley balked.

"I will," Remus answered. He hadn't even realized he had spoken aloud until he saw Kingsley and Moody staring at him. He cleared his throat. "I can take three shifts. If Kingsley, Arthur and Emmeline each take one, then Tonks just has to work two. Does that work for you, Moody?"

"You're already scheduled for three shifts, Remus," Moody responded, staring hard at Remus with both eyes. "No need for you to take anymore." Kingsley looked at Moody incredulously.

"I'm unemployed," Remus answered. "I welcome the extra work."

"Fine. But we can't always cover for her; she'll have to figure something out," Moody said directly to Kingsley. He did not look pleased with the arrangement, but made the change on the schedules. When he had finished, he gathered the papers and stomped his way out of the room. Kingsley stood to his feet regally, nodded to Remus as a goodbye and left close behind.

_Explains all that parchment. _Without thinking twice, Remus made tea for two.

As he nudged the door to the drawing room open, he expected to see his green-haired friend hard at work. Instead, he found her slumped over the desk, fast asleep on a pile of paper. Even with her sustained morph, her skin looked slightly dull and bags appeared faintly under her eyes. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it before. Remus set the tray of tea and some of Molly's famous ginger biscuits down on the desk, but thought better of it and moved it to the coffee table across the room. Everything in him was telling him it was time to leave, that to be found just _sitting here_ when she awoke would be nothing short of creepy. Instead, he walked over to stand by the desk. Looking down at her, it was at this point that his mind chose to remember her slightly bowed head, her shy look through her long lashes, the soft "I hadn't needed anything." His rush of pleasure at the words came flooding back.

She did need something. She needed help, but Remus knew enough of her stubbornness (_her tenacity, _he corrected himself) to know that no request for support would be forthcoming. He looked down at the parchment strewn about the desk. _If AA's normally handle some of the paperwork…_ and then, he saw it: a small notebook, filled with Tonk's hasty, small script. Looking closer, it appeared to be full of notes regarding her missions—partners, locations, contacts, time. Lying beneath the book was an official-looking Ministry parchment, with the words "Official Auror Time Allocation: July" emblazoned across the top. It looked complex, but not impossible.

Maybe he couldn't fill out her mission reports. Maybe he couldn't make Scrimgeour treat her fairly. But he damn sure could fill out a Time Allocation Report correctly.

Shuffling around some more papers, one eye constantly on Tonks to make sure she wasn't waking, Remus found two other time reports, blank, dating back to May. He grabbed the notebook, the sheets, and settled down on the settee and began the task.

Two hours later, Remus nudged Tonks gently in the shoulder, trying to wake her. He had heard Dung enter the house, making a commotion about the rarity of Knarl Quills. It would be just a few moments before he entered the drawing room looking for Tonks to begin their duty, and Remus couldn't imagine that being yelled awake by a man who reeked of what Remus swore was mincemeat would be pleasant. He nudged her again, a little more forcefully.

"Whaaa?" she sighed, still half-asleep as she wrinkled her nose and stretched her arms in front of her like a cat. "Wotcher, Remus," she said sleepily, before rocketing fully awake. "Holy, buggering hell! I was supposed to be getting work done, not lazing about!"

"I didn't want to wake you; looked like you could use the sleep," Remus said guiltily.

Dung's voice was now in the hallway, yelling for Tonks.

"I really needed to get through at least two mission re—did you do this?" she asked, holding up the three completed timesheets.

"Me?" Remus asked incredulously. "Nope, must have been the Time Allocation Faeries. Molly's been complaining about them for weeks," he said looking at his shoes before glancing at her playfully. "I'd never do such a thing. But since they're done, you should sign them. Here, here and here," he said while he indicated where her signature was required.

Before she could say anything more or protest that she didn't need help, Remus turned to leave the room, saying over his shoulder, "Have a good shift with Dung."

* * *

"Did you see that look on Harry's face?" Sirius looked as though the whole world sat on his shoulders. "Why won't Dumbledore just sodding speak to him?"

"He has his reasons, Sirius." Even as he said it, Remus had his own doubts. Harry looked dejected, defeated, and Remus had to wonder at the wisdom of making anyone's life harder than it had to be. Especially when that person was Harry who had no inkling of just how hard his life was still going to become. He knew that Albus would not be able to spare Harry from his role in this war, but it seemed all the more reason to encourage him while there were still things he could be encouraged about.

Sirius kicked a chair and let out a terse "Damn it all to hell!" before he sat and rested his head in his hands.

Several minutes passed in silence before Sirius raised his head just enough to lock eyes with Remus. He whispered, "Do you ever think we've let James and Lily down?"

"Every day."

"Me too," Sirius put his head back down. "Every goddamned day."

They fell back into silence.

"James would have hated this. Harry should be worried about girls and first dates and Quidditch, not Voldemort and another war," Sirius said, more to the table than to Remus.

"Does it make you feel any better to know that he does worry about girls? Or that he did last year, at the very least?"

"A little. Go on."

"I heard Hermione and Ginny one morning talking about how Harry took a girl named Parvati to the Yule Ball," Remus said. Seeing the anger fade slightly in Sirius' eyes pushed him to remember as much as he could. "If I remember correctly, she was a very pretty girl. Dark hair. Gryffindor. Bit of a social butterfly."

"He'll need a Gryffindor, that much is for certain. Must say I'm surprised he's not after Ginny, though… thought for sure James would pass on his affection for red heads genetically," Sirius said with a smirk.

"Remember that awful sonnet he wrote for Lily?"

"Oh God, how did that go?"

"Thine eyes of green, against thy hair of rust…"

"That was during his Old English phase, wasn't it? Hot damn, I had forgotten all about it," Sirius chuckled.

Pleased just to hear his friend's laugh again, Remus attempted to continue despite forgetting the words. "I'm missing a line, but it was something, something… skin like a golden crust… or something to that effect."

"It's amazing to me that he ever got that girl to marry him."

"What's this about marriage? Wotcher, boys," came Tonks' weary voice from the doorway. "Got any tea? I'm dead where I stand."

Sirius stood to make some for her, while she took his empty seat. "And was that horrifically bad poetry I heard as I walked in? By all means, continue."

"Oh, we were just reminded of some of the poems James wrote for Lily during our sixth year. He was in a phase," Remus responded.

"If you call seven years of unrequited love a phase…"

"It was only unrequited for six," Remus answered.

"True enough," Sirius agreed. "Who knows what made her change her mind..."

"Well, speaking for all of womankind, I can guarantee it wasn't that poem, iambic pentameter or no," Tonks chuckled.

Remus and Sirius laughed. Well and truly laughed, until their sides ached. Tonks looked between the two of them, confusion clearly on her face. When they stopped, Sirius said through several deep breaths, "I think Lily said that _exact_ same thing, actually."

"Good," Tonks replied cheekily. "Someone needs to make sure you boys know that bad poetry is a turn-off."

After what turned into several hours of story telling and tea drinking during which Sirius had managed to persuade her to stay despite her protests of needing sleep, Tonks stood to her feet. Wobbling slightly, she announced, "Well, I'm off to the couch. I'm to report to the Ministry in three hours for a double shift. And then I've got Order duty."

"Double shift?" Sirius asked.

"Yep," Tonks said through a large yawn. She brushed her blonde curls out of her eyes. Remus wondered at her changing looks. Every new face she chose fit her personality so well, and he was at a loss to explain how that was possible. Earlier that day with her green hair and midnight blue eyes, Remus had never blinked, never thought that it was slightly odd, which in itself _was_ odd because green hair and midnight blue eyes aren't a combination you see every day. Looking at her now with longish blonde curls framing blue-grey eyes that glittered even though she was so tired, combined with arching eyebrows and sculpted lips, Remus couldn't help but wonder if this was her natural state.

"Didn't you have a double shift today?" Remus asked, drawing himself away from his thoughts.

"Yes, and yesterday too. And before you ask, I have them the rest of this week," Tonks snapped.

"Jesus, Tonks. What did you do?" Sirius asked.

Tonks sat down again, heavily. "Nothing."

"Nothing? A week of double shifts for nothing?"

Tonks looked up at Remus and smiled wickedly before answering, "Well, seems I broke ol' Scrimmy's favorite mug."

Remus chuckled into his now-cold tea.

"Been pissed at me ever since," she continued as her grin grew wider.

Sirius looked at Remus, and then back at Tonks. Smirking, he looked at them both again. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, Molly walked in wearing her purple dressing gown, followed closely by Arthur dressed in muggle clothes.

"Oh! Seems we're not the only ones getting an early start," she said.

"Personally, I'm getting a late finish, Molly," Tonks said good-naturedly. "I was just heading off to the couch."

"Eat first. It'll help you sleep," Molly said, in a tone that brooked no argument as she started cracking eggs into an enormous bowl while she set bacon to fry with her wand. Remus marveled at her ability to feed an army, literally.

Tonks yawned, stretched, but remained in her seat. She obviously had learned, along with the rest of the Order, that sometimes it was just easier to do as Molly said.

After eating the huge breakfast Molly prepared, they all sat around the table in silence. It wasn't hard to tell that they were all lost in their own thoughts, and Remus couldn't help but wonder if they weren't all centered on Harry's trial in just a few hours.

Tonks broke the silence. "I really have to sleep if I'm going to be in any shape to dodge all of Scrimgeour's crazy questions."

Remus' stomach turned over. He raised his eyes and immediately connected them with Sirius'. After a shared look, he asked softly, "Crazy questions?"

"Err…" And then it all became shockingly clear to him. Scrimgeour wasn't being unfair to Tonks because she was a girl, or because she was young, or because she morphed mid-assignment, or even because she was clumsy; he was working her to death because he suspected something. As Remus began to form the first of many questions, Harry walked in.

Remus looked down at his watch: 5:30. They'd been in the kitchen all night, and now Harry was awake for his hearing. _Damn_. He needed to know what Rufus Scrimgeour was asking Tonks, but he also knew Harry was in desperate need of support. His internal battle rendered him silent.

"M-m-morning, Harry. Sleep well?" Tonks said through a yawn and Remus couldn't help but feel as though she had saved _him_. Another, larger yawn came next, looking as though her jaw might actually unhinge itself. "I've b-b-been up all night… come and sit down," she continued. She, in true Tonks style, knocked over a chair as she attempted to pull one out for him, but Remus could see Harry relax because of the mistake. Her normalcy was calming his nerves.

While grateful to her for knowing how to soothe his best friend's son when he did not, Remus was unable to hold his myriad of questions in a moment longer. With a sidelong look at Harry, he asked, "What were you saying about Scrimgeour?"

But even as he asked the question, he knew that she wouldn't be able to answer. Not to his satisfaction, at least. Harry was sitting there, rightfully nervous about the trial and he was clearly the Order's priority. But the idea of her being in trouble made his heart drop to his stomach. His nerves were only made worse knowing that in a few hours, she'd be working 16 hours at the ministry, followed by another 4 hour shift for the Order, guarding the Department of Mysteries. And then she had another double shift the next day… Remus began to despair that it might be a week before he learned what Scrimgeour was asking if she couldn't say it now.

"Oh…yeah…" Tonks looked quickly over to Harry to see if he was paying attention, but he looked absorbed in the toast and marmalade Molly had placed in front of him. She continued, "Well, we need to be more careful. He's been asking Kingsley and me funny questions…"

Remus couldn't help himself—he interrupted her. "What kind of questions?" Remus doubted that Kingsley _was _getting the same kind of questions at all, since Kingsley had made no mention to Moody that he too was being treated differently. Remus knew Tonks was trying to make it seem like she wasn't in any particular danger.

"Can't speak for Kingsley, but he seems interested in how I'm spending my time off—yesterday he asked if I had made any new acquaintances lately."

Remus became aware that he was sitting on the very edge of his seat; he made himself sit back as she continued.

"I think that's why he's got me on doubles. Keeps me in the Ministry building, where he can see me."

"What do you say?" Sirius asked quietly.

"That my dad's mum's been sick and we've been spending all our free time taking care of her. She's a muggle, so he'd have a hard time verifying it. And technically, she did have a cold last week. I took her some soup, so it's not quite a lie."

"How long 'til he's satisfied?" Arthur asked. Remus had forgotten he was there.

"No idea. I'm on doubles all this week, and Order duty the next two nights, but I'm not sure I can make it through," Tonks said. She looked defeated and Remus instantly hated it. He also knew how much that confession had cost her; she didn't like to admit she wasn't capable of something that was asked of her. "There's no way I can take a sick day at the Ministry, Scrimgeour's too suspicious…I think I'll ask Emmeline to cover tonight's Order shift… and I'll have to tell Dumbledore I can't do night duty t-t-tomorrow night, I'm just too tired."

Before Remus could process all she had said, Arthur volunteered to take her shift. And just like that, the conversation ended and all attention swung back to Harry. Remus heard everyone offering up little platitudes and snippets of advice on the hearing, even himself though he couldn't remember exactly what he had said, before Arthur ushered him out of the kitchen. He saw Tonks stand and mutter something about the couch. When she hit the doorjamb with her shoulder on the way out, Remus quickly stood and followed her. He caught up with her just in time to save her from falling on the stairs.

"Easy there," he said kindly as he caught her arm. He supported her the rest of the way up the stairs. As he guided her away from the drawing room, she turned and looked longingly at the settee that was just visible through the open door.

"Remus, the drawing…" she murmured a protest as he gently but insistently continued to lead her up another flight of stairs. He adjusted his grip on her arm as he opened the door to his room and helped her inside.

"Doxie-ridden couches are hardly the place to catch your only three hours of sleep in a day. You can sleep in my room."

"Don't you need it?"

"I'm not going to sleep just yet. I can wait until you leave for work," he said as he pulled back the covers and she settled inside.

"Mmm…just a min…don't need much…can't be late…"

"I'll wake you, so don't worry about oversleeping," Remus could see that she was already asleep as he shut the door behind him.

He made his way to drawing room to read while she slept. As he was setting an alert for when he would need to wake Tonks, Sirius interrupted him. "This came through the Floo from Figg, said it was delivered to her late last night."

He held out an envelope to Remus, which he recognized instantly. It was his own writing, a letter addressed to Augustine Clutterbuck, the werewolf he had met during the Wolfsbane trials. He had sent the letter over a week ago; he had assumed it was going to go without a response. Instead, a line was drawn through the name with a note in red ink: "Deceased. Please Stop Attempts to Contact."


End file.
